When Life Gives You a Superior Biology
by SuperiorFreak
Summary: You make the best of it. Or at least you try to. Because with all the amazing things in this new universe I found myself in, there are equally horrible things too. Everything has a way of balancing out. So what does that mean for me considering I won the genetic lottery? All that good has to balance out somehow right? My first problem? I was always more of a Marvel fan. SI/OC Kara
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I am genuinely shocked at the small amount of self inserts in the justice league fandom. Like I literally think I can count them on one hand lol only half kidding.**

**So I decided to fix that tragedy by writing one of my own. Just as a heads up this SI is not me lol, I just don't know another term besides SI for a person being reincarnated into another world.**

**This is my second Fanfic ever so be gentle with me. But feel free to point out any flaws in my story through review or PM. I am open to ALL criticism. If you have any ideas or just feel like talking feel free to pm or review I like chatting with people. **

**UMMM yeah? I guess that's it so umm enjoy the story? **

**OH! Before I forget I must admit that the story "In Zod we trust" pushed me to write/publish this. HOWEVER! I already had this story in my head before hand. It just inspired me to actually put it on "paper".**

**CHAPTER 1**

The day I died had been just like any other. I woke up at six in the morning, took a shower to wake myself up, ate breakfast then brushed my teeth. Yes in that order, what's the point of cleaning my teeth then getting it dirty with food?

But anyways as I was saying it had been a normal day, I clocked in at my shitty mcdonalds job at eight in the morning just as I usually did.

Then I went to attend my college class in the afternoon, just as I usually did.

As I left my last class for the day something happened that nobody had seen coming. A blinding flash of light appeared behind me almost like a camera flash but a hundred times brighter, so bright in fact that it literally burned my skin with its intensity. I whirled around ignoring the pain of my slightly seared back, to see what had caused it. It was the worst mistake of my life as I soon found out, but ironically it was also the best mistake of my life as I would later find out.

In the distance I could see the mushroom cloud beginning to form, but I only had enough time to process what I was seeing when the shockwave hit. A wall of pure force and unbelievable heat slammed into me and sent me ragdolling across the parking lot slamming into the side of a car. After that all I knew was agony and darkness, my entire front side had been practically melted from the intense heat, my eyes had literally burst at the sudden temperature increase. All I could do was lay there pitafally moaning and begging for death. Finally, mercifully it came.

After the horrible pain of being in the edges of a nukes blast range, the darkness that had consumed me was a welcome thing. I literally embraced death, and if I my lips had not been practically melted off I would have smiled when my time was up. I had "sat" in the darkness for awhile, I couldn't even guess the time since there was literally nothing except my own thoughts in that void.

But suddenly the empty void had been replaced with a warm and almost comforting liquid. And while everything was still dark I finally had the ability to feel things, granted it was only the warm fluid I seemed to have been submerged in, but compared to the darkness I had grown used to, it was almost sensory overload. I had a sense of self where before I had been formless.

I didn't know what this place was but I liked it. It was so comforting in this weird almost instinctual way. I couldn't have described it if someone had asked but it felt right in a way that went beyond merely comforting.

Like all good things however, it ended. My blissful state of existence was abruptly ended when what felt like walls suddenly started to squeeze me and I was pushed through what felt like some sort of membrane and suddenly my world had gone from a stable comforting warm liquid to a world full of cold air and giant hands. I couldn't even open my eyes to look around as the fluid I had been submerged in seemed to have left residue that glued my eyes shut. In my panic I flailed around and screamed bloody murder, it seemed my throat didn't want to cooperate since all that came out was a shrieking wail. I was confused, scared, and uncomfortable and all I wanted was to go back to my comforting world.

Those giant hands seemed to be passing me around as if I was a toy. Since I still couldnt see I assumed they were gods and that I was being judged for my sins or something, perhaps I had been in limbo before then and now they were finally making their final judgement on where I was to go.

As if they had heard my thoughts something that felt like a sponge was wiped across my body removing the remaining fluid from my body including my face. Taking the opportunity I slowly cracked my eyes open, only to slam them shut and scream even louder than I had before. The light had felt blindingly bright after so long in darkness. Even with my eyes closed the orange light that penetrated my eyelids still hurt slightly.

However if these beings were going to be deciding the fate my of eternal soul then I wanted to at least get a good look at these gods. So I bit the bullet and opened my eyes once more, what I saw made me freeze, my screaming which had been a near constant sound up until that point died in my throat.

The divine beings that were holding me looked an awful lot like robots, correction it appeared to be one robot with over a dozen prehensile limbs. '_God made robots to automat his job…..what….the….hell? Ok Michael its perfectly natural for a divine being to create things so why not robot angel thingies?' _I tried to rationalize it in my head as I stared at the metallic being...that was cleaning me? Indeed it seemed that the many arms of the robot was working on making sure my body was spotless as it scrubbed and dried my sensitive skin gently. Soon I found myself expertly wrapped in an unbelievably soft and fluffy white blanket and placed in what appeared to be a some sort of bed. With its task complete it promptly floated out of view and thanks to the way I was wrapped I couldn't move my head to track it.

All I could do was stare blankly at the ceiling which appeared to be made of interlocking glowing white crystals. '_So now I just wait for the big man to show up?' _I wasn't quite sure if that was a relieving thought or a nerve racking one, so I decided to focus on other things like how tired I felt. '_Would God find it rude if I fell asleep waiting for him?' _I wondered as I felt my eyes start to droop.

I was jerked into wakefulness at the sound of voices. They spoke in a language I had never even heard of, which of course made sense since it was the language of the gods. I waited with baited breath as the voices got closer. The first thing I noticed when they got within view was that they looked exactly like humans….or was it the other way around? The second thing was that they were very easy on the eyes. They both could have passed for models, the guy having dark hair and piercing blue eyes and a handsome face, while the woman had nice golden blonde locks and similarly beautiful blue eyes and face.

They both looked down at me with similar smiles on their faces. They looked lovingly at me? I supposed they were gods and loved all their creations or something? Well either way the looks on their faces as they gazed at made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and took my breath away. They looked at me like I was their whole world, which was a ridiculous thought seeing as how they were gods and everything. The female reached down and scooped me into her arms holding me to her chest as she gazed down at me. I leaned into her delicious warmth and basked in her loving gaze.

With my head pressed into her chest I could both hear and feel as she spoke to me in that bizzare language of hers. I couldn't understand her obviously but I could feel the love in her voice all the same. All to soon however she held me away from her and I suddenly felt so cold and lonely without her warmth, I let out a strangled whimper in my displeasure but it was quickly cut off as the male took me into his arms and I found myself once more soaking up the warmth these divine beings seemed to radiate as I was pressed into his chest. There was one word however that I was able to pick out and it was "Kara". I wasnt sure what it meant but my ears had picked it out due to selective hearing and it being the only word I my brain recognized as a word.

I must have fallen asleep in his arms soon after because the next thing I knew I was in the arms of the metal angel again and unlike last time it seemed it was trying to put one of its arms in my mouth, the tip of the tentacle had some sort of sweet smelling white liquid dripping off of it. I wanted to turn away and scream but for some reason I couldn't explain my body of its own accord leaned forward to accept the appendage into my mouth. It squirted the white liquid into my mouth and to my horror despite my mind screaming in horror I not only swallowed it greedily and readily but also greatly enjoyed the experience. Eventually after a while the metal angel pulled its arm out of my mouth and set me back into bed. I was traumatized. My body had literally betrayed me and that _Thing _had...it had...well I wasn't quite sure what it had done or what the liquid was but I know I didn't like it or want it...no matter how much my body had apparently enjoyed it. My mind was my own, but in that moment when it was feeding me that liquid I wasn't quite sure if my body was truly mine. It had felt like a natural thing to let it in my mouth despite knowing intellectually that I didn't want it, my body apparently said otherwise.

Something about that experience had put a seed of doubt as to where exactly I was. The only other explanation other than a realm of gods was that I had been reincarnated. I had never believed in reincarnation. It seemed so stupid, I mean if the population of the planet is constantly increasing where are the new souls coming from? It didn't make a lick of sense to me, therefore it wasnt worth my time or faith. So the question now was why was I staring up at a ceiling apparently made up of glowing crystal, when I should have been looking at a pair of golden gates or a fiery pit. I didn't want to believe it but the facts certainly added up.

With the new doubt planted in my mind I waited for the next time the gods visited me. Assuming of course that they came to visit me again. But I had a feeling I would see them again.

Apparently I had fallen asleep as I once again found myself being awoken by the sound of voices. Unlike last time I had awoken I found myself in the arms of the female god once more soaking up her warmth. Her voice took on a more excited quality and the smile on her lips got wider as she noticed me staring back at her. At that moment something in her eyes stirred something in me and I knew, I _knew_ without a shadow of a doubt that this woman was my mother not some goddess. Every fiber of my being reacted to her presence in such a way that she couldn't have been anything else.

I stared up at her quietly just thinking frantically trying to make sense and peace with my situation. If I had indeed been reincarnated it looked like I was still human, and judging by the floating robot and the weird ceiling I appeared to have been born a considerable distance into the future. And judging by the fact I was even able to think these thoughts it appeared that I hadn't been reincarnated properly. '_I mean i'm not supposed to remember my past life right?' _While I had been deep in my existential crisis my mother apparently took me out onto the balcony as the sudden feeling of wind on my face broke me out of my thoughts. The sight in front of me literally took my breath away.

Any doubt I had about being born into the future was erased as I took in the city before me. It was a strange amalgamation of metal, glass, and crystals, and every building seemed to want to escape the planet with how ridiculously tall some of them were. I could see what appeared to be flying cars flitting between building, it almost reminded me of insects around a hive. It put images of Coruscant to shame. But the thing that really clinched it for me was the sun. It was _red. _We weren't even on earth and by the sheer size of the city it looked like we had colonized this world a long time ago. I couldn't even begin to guess how far into the future I found myself.

It appeared that mother was worried by me suddenly freezing and staring into space, as she was staring at me with clear concern in her eyes and her voice now had a more concerned quality to it, once again I distinctly heard her say "Kara" at this point I was pretty sure it was my name. I stared at her and gave her a gummy smile. The smile I received in return made my stomach churn in happiness. I knew intellectually it was just my baby body reacting to the positive attention, but with the near high I was getting off the sudden rush of endorphins I couldn't bring myself to care. All that changed however when I glanced down at the base of her throat and noticed the metal clasp that was holding her dress together and the joy I had been feeling died an ugly death and was replaced with confusion and my eyes widened in mounting horror as I slowly started to realize what it meant. I _recognized_ the symbol it was shaped to represent.

How could I not? After all it was quite possibly the most universally well known symbol on my planet regardless of culture or location. Sitting innocently on my mother's throat looking almost a molten orange in the red light of the sun was the Crest of the House of El.

_Language I don't even recognize._

_A red sun._

_Floating robots._

_Crystalline buildings_

_House of El._

_Kara._

Slowly but surely I was putting it together, and I wasn't liking the answer. Not one bit.

I wasn't just not on earth, I don't think I was even in the same universe.

And like any sane person in that situation I screamed and promptly shat myself.

**PLEASE REVIEW OR PM. I enjoy answering question/reading others ideas.**

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	2. Chapter 2

**Short chapter but I have a bigger one that I will be uploading later today. like 12k kind of big.**

**CHAPTER 2**

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**Two months after birth**

It had been nearly two months since I had been reborn, or at least that's what I'm assuming based on the day/night cycle i've been keeping track of through the balcony window I could see from my crib. I wasn't even sure if they used the same method of tracking time, for all I knew their version of weeks could have been nine days long instead of seven. This was after all a completely different world after all, I couldn't really base there planetary movements off of earths. But I had seen the sun rise sixty times, and I had seen it fall sixty times, so until someone corrected me I was going with two months.

Two months of being fed what I had come to realize as some type of baby formula by Robo-nanny.

Two months of staring at the same ceiling.

Two months of shitting and pissing myself.

Two months of having zero motor control.

Two months of volatile mood swings.

Being a baby sucked.

It sucked hard.

But the worst thing so far was-

"Kara?"

_Speak of the devil and it shall appear. _I thought as I turned my head to the person approaching my crib. My mother looked down on me with an expression full of so much love it hurt. And I didn't mean that as some sappy metaphor, I meant it literally hurt see it on her face.

How could it not? Afterall how could I face either of them knowing what heinous crime I had committed. Every time either of them smiled at me I would get this surge of joy, but then it would immediately turn into a crushing sense of guilt and self loathing as I remembered what I was.

A murderer.

They smiled at me. Their child's corpse and murderer rolled into one. And it hurt. So damn much. To know that their love for me was based on a lie. That if they knew the truth the love in their eyes would have been a burning hatred.

The negative thoughts seemed to be too much for my baby brain as I suddenly started to cry uncontrollably. My mom quickly gathered me in her arms and started rocking me in the hopes of soothing me, unfortunately the caring act actually made it worse as I screamed all the louder. Through blurry eyes I watched her face fill with worry as I continues to bawl my eyes out.

I felt something wet on my cheek, and at first I thought it was just my tears. But then I felt it again and my crying wound down to just the occasional sniffle as I was distracted by the unfamiliar sensation. As my vision cleared I was able to figure out what the liquid was.

_It was tears. _Just as I had originally thought, though they weren't mine. They were my mothers. My eyes widened as I came to the realization as I watched her put me down and walk out of the room. I was the cause of her tears.

'_What was I doing?_' What was done was done. The only thing I was achieving by wallowing in my own self hatred was making _them _sad. In fact it made the whole situation that much worse, I not only killed her but I was making her parents miserable? What kind of scum am I? For the past two months I had done nothing but cry whenever they entered the room. What must they have thought when their own daughter seemingly couldn't stand the mere sight of them? The least I could do was make her loved ones happy.

'_No.' _I thought suddenly as I thought over my last few thoughts. It didn't matter if it was the least I could do for her, _she _didn't matter, but _I _did.

Kara Zor-El was dead, but I wasn't. There was nothing I could do about it. I never chose to die, and I most certainly never would have chosen to take her place. The guilt I had been drowning in for weeks was vaporized by the sudden righteous anger that blazed to life at the realization.

_This was my body now. _

_I was Kara Zor-El now. _

_This was my life now. _

_They are my parents not hers._

_This was my life to live not hers._

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the fiery anger was extinguished, but not by guilt, no this time it was overwhelming fear.

It was almost ironic in a way, I finally decided that I wanted to live this new life I had been given only to remember that this whole planet including my parents were apparently destined to die a fiery death soon. I stamped it down so I could think properly, panicking wouldn't help anyone.

'_What did I know?'_The fear quickly surged back into place as I realized I really didn't know much. Between the fact that almost the entirety of my comic book knowledge stemmed from random youtube clips of shows and movies and the fact that I was mainly interested in marvel thanks to all the live action films, lead to a disturbing lack of relevant information on my current situation. Taking a deep breath I reorganized my panicked thoughts and focused on what I did know about Kara from Before. With a more calm mind I delved back into my memories, I was shocked to realize that I was able to remember things in much greater clarity than I had ever been able to in the Before. It was by no means a photographic memory, but I was certain that it was much more detailed than it should have been. I wasn't quite sure if it was a reincarnated thing or a kryptonian thing but regardless it helped me compile everything about Kara much faster and easier, which sadly wasn't much even with my improved memory.

Ok so I knew for a fact Kara left the planet as it was exploding just like her cousin. And I knew she left before she was an adult since I couldn't remember a single time in media where she was an adult on arrival. Other than that I really didn't know much about Kara and even less about her life in regards to krypton, Ironically considering my situation she never really appealed to me. _Great. This is just fucking fantastic _I thought sarcastically.

So all I knew for certain was that the planet was going to blow up somewhere between my tenth and sixteenth birthday. That….really wasn't that helpful, but it was better than nothing I supposed.

I wasn't even sure what I should or even could do to change krypton's fate. I mean I was a kid, what could I possibly do to help when Clark's father a supposed super genius even by krypton's standards was brushed off? Yeah I could totally imagine that going well, a little girl screaming about the planet blowing up. Yup that sounds like a great plan. I would either be sent to a therapist, or end up discrediting Jor-El even further. No. I couldn't save Krypton…..but perhaps my family? Yes. That was something I could do...maybe...hopefully?

Such emotionally draining realizations and thoughts really tuckered out my baby body it seemed as I quickly started to nod off. So with a tentative goal for the future in mind I went to sleep. It may not have been a plan just yet, but it was certainly better than drowning in self loathing

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**:

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**So I hope y'all enjoy the chapter, SORRY about the delay. Life literally kept taking pot shots at me lol. Also I sort of went into a depressive slump after seeing the dumpster fire that was Game of Thrones season 8. Like WOW. I have never felt that empty before in my life. Years of build up and anticipation and fan theories, and DnD threw it all in the trash and threw in a match stick for good measure. All for that sweet sweet disney money.**

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**CHAPTER 3**

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**Three years after birth**

After that day all those years ago I did a practical one-eighty in how I interacted with my parents, if they found it odd that I seemingly changed over night they certainly didn't mention it, either chalking it up to me being a baby or they just didn't care as long as I didn't cry at the sight of them any longer. After a few months I had a strong enough grasp of the language to understand what they were saying, though I never spoke until a few months before my first birthday. They had been ecstatic when I spoke my first word. After they knew I could talk and understand them well enough they promptly started teaching me. It was just basic information but all of it was interesting to me, although admittedly some were more interesting than others.

Kryptonian society was based on a very strict caste system much like I remembered ancient India to be like, unlike ancient India however the people in our caste system were _literally_ born for their specific caste. As in our genetic make up was literally altered to better suit the caste. Oh boy how you wouldn't believe how surprised I was to find that I was a literal test tube baby, although to be fair everyone on Krypton was one so I wasn't a freak or anything. No one was born naturally, the egg and seed were taken from the parents and inseminated in a genesis pod where the baby would then be altered on the genetic level as it matured to ensure optimal results for the specific caste. Unsurprisingly our Caste was the Science Caste.

Also I found out that my earlier assumption was wrong, I wasn't on a different planet, because technically speaking I wasn't on a planet to begin with. I was on Argo City, which according to my Dad had originally been a planet killing asteroid on a collision course with krypton a few thousand years ago, but using our advanced technology and seeing an opportunity we slowed it down and changed its trajectory so that it got stuck in our gravity well. We effectively created a new moon, a very metal and mineral rich moon. A mining colony was quickly established and the asteroid was stripped of all the resources we could find, but that took time, and time let the small pitiful little colony grow into the sprawling metropolis it was today with a giant dome over its entirety to keep out the harsh vacuum of space.

I stared up in wonder at the sky above me. Up above and taking up most of my vision was Krypton, and on the horizon I could see all four of its accompanying moons. The view was so different from earth's that I always felt compelled to stare when ever I got the chance.

"Eat your food before it gets cold." My mother scolded me, bringing me back down to Argo. We had gone out to a nearby park to have a picnic.

Glancing down at my lap I saw that my plate was still full, in fact I hadn't even touched it. Admittedly it wasn't even that I was too distracted to eat, the food just really looked unappealing. My mother apparently thought it would be a great time to feed me something new. Some sort of meat dish, and while it smelled good, it looked like a steak and a sponge had a child...that was also a vibrant shade of blue.

Desperately looking to buy more time to build up my courage to try the weird meat. I pointed up at the sky. "Dad! Why is that one different?" I was pointing at one of the moons, this one unlike the others looked as if it had been shattered, but its own gravity had kept it together enough for it to still resemble the moon it had once been.

Dads face as he stared at the shattered moon was one I recognized as his thinking face. His jaw was set firmly and his eyes narrowed in thought, he took a deep breath before looking at me. He studied me briefly before speaking, his shoulders slumping and he sighed. "I suppose now is as good a time as any. You were bound to find out eventually on your own, your too curious not to." He chuckled mirthlessly, his eyes once more looking at the shattered moon. "One hundred and seven years ago the moon known as Wegthor had a colony of nearly twenty thousand. On that lunar colony was a scientist by the name of Jax-Ur. He was brilliant, in fact he and your uncle Jor were said to be tied for the spot of Head scientist."

"What?" I stared at him in confusion, my mind trying to make sense of that tidbit. Hesitantly I asked "How old is uncle Jor?"

His somber mood quickly faded as he took in my confused expression, he looked at me with some amusement in his eyes "One-hundred thirty six years old."

I stared at him in shock, my eyes felt like they might pop out if I opened them any wider. "Then how old are you guys!" I glanced at both of my parents.

"One hundred ninety-eight." My father was smiling as he said it.

My head whipped around to look at my Mom. Mentally pleading with her to give a more sane answer.

She raised one brow at my stare, mirth clearly dancing in her eyes as she answered "Two Hundred Seventeen."

All I could do was stare at them agape, my mouth opening and closing without any sound. They had to have been pulling my leg right? Even now they both looked hardly a day over thirty, how could they possibly be that ancient?

"How?" I was only able to utter that one word with how shocked I was.

Both my parents looked at each other for a moment and with a single nod they turned back towards me and raised their right hands with the back of their hands facing me. At first nothing seemed to happen, then suddenly color started to bloom to life on the back of their hands. After a few moments the shifting colors finally stabilized, leaving behind a rather familiar pattern. The house of El crest now rested on their skin. The one on my mom's hand was blue on a gold background, Dads was red on a gold background.

Dad explained. "When a Kryptonian is in the Genesis chamber our genetics are altered, one of those alterations is the ability to form and control organic nanites within our bodies. They help us in almost every aspect of daily life from more efficiently breaking down foods, all the way to doing maintenance on our bodies, whether it be boosting our immune systems or healing damage. The last part is especially important since the nanites can slow cell decay, leading to much longer and healthier lives."

Taking in the information I stared down at my hands in a new light, flexing them experimentally as if having the knowledge would make them feel differently than they had yesterday. "So I have these...nanites as well then?" I glanced back up at my parents, they both nodded.

This time it was my mother who spoke. "All kryptonians have them, however most of their functions besides boosting the immune system are deactivated until they come into contact with a unique virus which has been genetically engineered to only target those organic nanites, which in turn fully activate. Only once a kryptonian successfully finishes their Trials will they be exposed to the virus."

"But why aren't we allowed to have it fully active from birth? It sounds like it would be best to have it at a younger age." I could already think of plenty of uses for such a system.

Mom seemed to find the question funny as she laughed, "I asked that very same question when I found out about the nanites. The answer to it is quite simple, you see while the nanites are a great boon to have they can also be a great detriment if used irresponsibly. In the early days when the nanites were first introduced they were active from the start and it led to some complications as children would accidentally use their nanites without even realizing it or using them irresponsibly, in some cases the results were lethal."

I was gonna ask more questions when my dad interrupted me. "We can talk about this in greater detail later. I believe we were talking about Wegthor before we got off topic?" Seeing my nod he continued with a sigh. "As I was saying earlier, Jax-Ur was a brilliant scientist. He was always pushing the boundaries of what we thought was scientifically possible. Eventually he started to wander to more forbidden topics, one of them being interstellar travel which has been banned from being studied for more than ten thousand years. In secret he had developed a prototype FTL drive, and while he was on Krypton attending a meeting something went wrong with the drive. The results was an explosion so big it literally shattered Wegthor, killing everyone on the colony. Jax-Ur seeing hat he had done gave himself up. He was actually the first person to be sentenced to the Phantom Zone."

"Phantom Zone?" I knew what it was, but they didn't know that.

"Jor was tasked with finding a better alternative to storing dangerous criminals, and in typical Jor-El fashion he went above and beyond expectations." I listened in rapt attention as my father explained the history of the Phantom Zones creation, not even realizing in my distraction that I had popped a bite of the mystery meat in mouth.

I blinked incredulously at the plate in my lap. The blue meat had a rather pleasant texture to it as it was somehow simultaneously tender like a perfect steak and its porous structure made it almost explode in your mouth from all the trapped juices. But that wasn't what had caught me off guard.

'_It tasted like...cotton candy?'_

**Four years after birth **

Now four years old I found myself sitting in mom's lap as she brushed my hair. Apparently today we were expecting a guest and Mom wanted me to look my best, for some reason she really liked to brush my hair by hand instead of letting Kelex do it like most Kryptonian mothers would, she almost seemed to take pride in _my_ hair, in fact I think she liked my hair more than I did. But I certainly wasn't complaining as I found the action very soothing and it made me love her all the more. I was a very tactile person by nature even in the Before, so something like this was a very welcome thing.

"Momma?"

"Hmm? Yes dear?"

"Can I go to my room?"

My mother sighed good naturedly and stopped her brushing, she lightly nudged me out of her lap. "Fine but you better come down for dinner this time young lady. You understand were having a guest?"

"Mhmm!" I grinned at her as I ran out of the living room. Pausing in the hallway I turned and ran back into the living room and hugged her tightly pressing my face into her legs, as I was still rather small. "Love you mom!"

She snorted, "Love you too sweetie but I still expect you to be down here on time for dinner." I quickly ran out of the room, slightly red faced at being caught so easily. I heard her voice ring down the hall, "And don't forget to get dressed this time! I want you to make a better first impression than the last time we had a guest!"

When I got to my room the metal door slid up into the ceiling at my approach. My grin while still present faded somewhat as I entered. Now was time for business not fun. Although the two aren't mutually exclusive in this case. I quickly made my way towards my bed and picked up the small silvery circlet I had left there earlier in the afternoon, I put it on my head and backed away from the bed towards the center of the room and promptly let myself fall backwards on open air as if I was doing a trust fall without a partner. But in this case I did have a partner, just not a conventional one, as the metal floor quickly rose up and caught me conforming to my body and repositioning me so that I was in a reclined position almost like a lazy boy chair.

I grinned brightly, no matter how many times I experienced it liquid geo never ceased to amaze me. Its possible applications was honestly astounding, but what was even more shocking was when I realized that kryptonians practically never used the material for anything other than shitty display screens.

Once I realized that little horrifying tidbit I promptly snapped up practically every ounce of the stuff we had lying around the house and locked myself in my room for the whole day. My parents had entered a few hours later to find me dangling from my foot, held aloft by an amorphous metal tentacle, which may or may not have grabbed them as well leaving us all dangling by our feet until my father managed to deactivate it. After a stern lecture from both my parents about the dangers of experimenting without proper safeguards, they helped me work out the kinks with my design. It ended up requiring me to design an AI practically from the ground up that could interpret my brainwaves to control the liquid geo, as such an AI had never existed before that day so we couldn't just use a pre existing one. But the results were worth it as the entire floor of my room was able to turn into anything I needed, even my bed was made of the stuff as it was able to conform to my body better than any mattress I had used in the Before, it certainly beat a tempurpedic bed that's for sure. Admittedly I had gotten the idea for the circlet from a disney movie I remembered seeing in the Before.

The awesomeness of my room aside I watched as holographic screens started to appear all around me, each one representing different subjects I had been studying previously or at least marked for future study. Finally after a few seconds I found the one I was wanting, reaching out I pressed it. All the other holograms faded leaving the one I pressed to expand into multiple different screens with texts and diagrams scrolling slowly across them. With my kryptonian brain I was able to process the information as it scrolled by, even with the multiple screens. The kryptonian mind truly was remarkable, if the brain was a nose then being human was like having a stuffy nose your whole life, and being kryptonian was like finally having a clear sinus. The difference was so vast that if I had been reincarnated the other way around I think I might have actually killed myself. To go from _this_ to _that_? It was like being on adderall all the time except it was actually it's beefier better older sibling and without any of the drawbacks. Yeah no. Even with only four years of this I couldnt imagine being able to go back to _that_. Everything was just so much...more.

In my previous life I hadn't exactly been the most competent of students, I had been a Performing Arts Major when I died, but now I was confidently tackling Quantum Mechanics, granted it was one of the beginner courses on the subject but still it was a subject that Kryptonian children were expected to understand. If that didn't exemplify the difference between the two species, then I wasn't sure what would. Although to be fair the fear of a planet exploding might have also helped motivate me to learn. I did notice however that I did actually enjoy learning new things, whether that was something inherent in all Kryptonians or a result of the gene modifications done to the science caste was up for debate.

I spent the next few hours studying various subjects. So absorbed was I in the material that I didn't even notice when the door opened and someone walked into the room.

"Kara?" A voice said, not even a foot behind me.

"AHHHH!" The sudden sense of surprise must have been too much for the poor AI to handle as the chair I was sitting in exploded sending globs of liquid geo in all directions leaving me to fall on my ass as the chair was now scattered around the room. Quickly standing up I spun around to face the intruder, the room reflecting my thoughts as tentacles of liquid geo rose up defensively around me. When I saw who it was, the tentacles lost their cohesion and splashed back to the ground like silvery water. Jor-El stood in front of me with a raised brow clearly not amused with the liquid geo that was dripping off his form from being in the chairs blast radius. "Oh Rao! I'm so sorry Uncle Jor!" With a thought all the silvery liquid rolled down his form back into the ground. With that done I promptly tackled him in a hug, "What are you doing here?" I was genuinely confused as he lived on Krypton with his wife Lara.

Jor sighed good naturedly, "It's fine Kara." He chuckled a little patting my head, earning him a slight glare for musseling my hair "I should have suspected something was up when your mother was so insistent I be the one to come get you for dinner. Must have been payback for missing the lunch date last week. I'm here to meet up with an old friend whos coming here."

"Wait. Did you say dinner?" A glance out the window proved his statement correct as I saw the sun setting on the horizon. I gasped and started frantically pushing him towards the door seeing as how I barely reached his thighs it must have been a comical scene. "Out! Out! Out! I need to change! Mom will kill me if i'm not dressed properly this time!" With him gone I willed my closet to rise up out of the ground as I quickly shucked off the clothes I had been wearing. I picked out a white skin suit with golden trimming, after stepping into the unibody outfit I pressed the small golden house of El symbols on the cuffs and with a slight hiss the back sealed itself. With it on I examined myself in the mirror that formed in front of me. The outfit like its name suggested was skin tight and seamless, not even any stitches were present, the House of El's symbol was proudly emblazoned over my heart, although it was missing the S as I could only openly wear that once I passed the Trials. I was still four years old so my face still had a lot of baby fat present, and it still surprised me even after four years to see the cherubic blue eyed blonde girl staring back at me in my reflection, in the Before I was not only a different gender but also of African descent so the pale skin and more femine features still threw me for a loop even with four years to come to terms with the abrupt change. I still hadn't come to terms with the gender thing but that would surely rear its head once puberty started and the differences would be unignorable, but as the saying went. Out of sight, out of mind.

My hair was still pretty straight after my moms prior efforts and ended at my shoulders, although I noticed the back of my hair was a little disheveled from my earlier study session. Holding out my hand a stream of liquid geo rose up into my hand and formed a brush, I quickly brushed it a little to straighten it out the imperfections. With a nod and a deep breath I headed towards the living room to wait for the guest and greet them properly. After a bit of waiting, Kelex the family robot informed us the guest was almost to the door, and he went to go lead the guest towards the living room.

As the current Heiress of the noble and ancient House of El proper etiquette and protocol was hammered into me since I could talk in full sentences. When Kelex returned with the guest I stepped in front of my parents as protocol dictated I do to welcome a new person into our home and bowed my head slightly and pressed my right open palm over the incomplete symbol on my chest while doing something slightly resembling a curtsy without a skirt. "I am Kara Zor-El the current Heiress of the House of El and I welcome you into our home." With the greeting out of the way I was finally allowed to look at our guest properly, he was a tall well built man wearing a black skin suit with red accents, on his chest was a symbol I recognized immediately and it caused my palms to dampen slightly. It was a symbol almost as prestigious as my own families, if not for a different reason. The symbol decorating his chest in black and red was that of the House of Zod.

He pressed a closed fist to his chest before bowing slightly at the waist, "I am Dru of the house of Zod, Grand General of Krypton's military, Shield of Rao, and current head of the House of Zod." His titles were definitely a hell of a lot cooler than my paltry Heiress status. If he thought so however I wouldn't have known as he gazed down at me with a blank expression. No. I realized not blank, calculating. His eyes seemed to be assessing me and whatever he found seemed to please him in some way, as his granite like face seemed to relax a bit and small almost nonexistent smile formed on his face. "So you're the Kara i've heard so much about?" with a snort, he continued, "From the stories I thought you'd be taller." he patted my head to further accentuate my currently vertically challenged state, leaving my hair slightly ruffled.

I stared at him my mouth agape in shock, not only at the blatant breach in protocol but also his words. Taking a moment to recompose myself I focused on the truly important part of his words, "You've heard of me?" I was highly sceptical, I mean I was just four years old and practically never interacted with anyone outside of immediate family, what could he have possibly heard about a four year old girl?

He raised a brow in apparent amusement at my words, "Heard of you?" He laughed openly this time, "Who hasn't heard of the up and coming prodigy in the House of El."

"...Prodigy?"

This time he looked at me with narrowed eyes. "You did complete the phase one courses already right?" seeing my tentative nod his eyes narrowed further. "And you are aware that generally speaking most kryptonians finish that course around the age of eight?"

My eyes widened and before I could stop myself I spoke in surprise. "What? But they were so easy!" I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth in embarrassment at my loss of control. Some Heiress I was to lose control so easily like that right?

Zod shook his head in amusement and looked at my parents behind me. "Leave it to an El to break records like that and say it was 'easy'. Any particular reason you didn't tell her?"

I whirled around to glare at my parents. They only shrugged with slightly embarrassed looks on there faces. "We thought it was for the best, besides she looks so happy when she learns new things, I couldn't bring myself to tell her." My mom only looked at me with slightly apologetic eyes. "And besides we were so proud of her."

"We wanted to see how far she could go." My father said as he put a hand on my shoulder.

I glanced at Jor wondering what he would have to say on the matter. He simply shrugged and said "Didn't think it mattered if she knew she was smart or not. The test results speak for themselves."

I preened at their praise, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes at there excuse. "It wouldn't have changed anything even if you had told me." '_After all I need to learn enough to save you all_'. Turning back to Zod I motioned for him to sit on the couch, once everyone was seated I just sat there and listened to their conversation. Kelex came by a few minutes later with plates of food for everyone.

It appeared that Zod was a great friend of my parents and uncle, which was surprising since I hadn't seen him before or even heard mention of him from my parents. I only knew of him because he quite literally was in our history lessons.

Although by continuing to listen I did figure out why I hadn't seen him before, it seemed he had been off world for the past four years dealing with some sort of threat at the edge of the solar system. Apparently some races had combined forces and decided to pool their resources together to attack krypton, they jumped into the star system with a fleet that outmassed and outnumbered the kryptonian defence force three to one. Which under normal circumstances that would have been an automatic victory for the invading party, unfortunately Kryptonians did not _do_ normal. Being one of the oldest and most advanced civilisations in the known universe had its perks apparently, one of those being that when it came to war Krypton was almost always the biggest kid on the block. The 'Invasion' of Krypton was literally halted in its tracks by the much smaller force as our ships were superior in every way to the enemies. While the enemy had to pound away at our shields, the kryptonians on the other hand could blast through theirs within a few shots of their much more powerful cannons. But that wasn't what really made krypton's defence so scary, it was the fact that no one actually knew what our defence was even like. Krypton didn't have any FTL capable ships, even in its military, so to make up for that weakness they invented something else to level the playing field. Krypton's greatest minds thousands of years ago got together and made a series of satellites that together generated a signal that made it impossible to use FTL technology when under its effects. So when an enemy appeared they literally had no way of escaping the system alive, and the signal also had the added bonus of disabling FTL communicators as well forcing the invaders to rely on the infinitely slower radio waves at least when considering the vast distances the waves had to travel, although all kryptonian ships were able to communicate through the interference. This lead to literally no one outside of krypton knowing what happened to the invading forces, as the saying went, 'dead men tell no tales'. The battle was over in a matter of hours, and Krypton only lost a few of their ships. Zod and his forces stayed out there for the following years to deal with any scout ships or probes they sent to investigate the disappearance of their fleet, and also just in case they sent another fleet.

When there was a lull in the conversation I spoke up. "General Zod, how is it you know my parents? I wasn't aware they knew anyone in the soldier caste. Let alone the Grand General."

"Ah. Yes I suppose that is a good question, it is admittedly a rather unlikely friendship." He took a sip of his drink. "In the academy me and your uncle Jor shared the same combat class. Well to be more accurate I was brought in to show them the basics, as I was already practically done with the advanced classes." He smiled at Jor across the table as if remembering a fond memory. "I remember when I first saw him, I thought it was some kind of mistake. After all, what would a science caste member be doing in a combat class? But no, I soon learned that the boys name was Jor-El and he was there because he had already finished all his other courses in the academy. His exact words were 'I don't have anything better to do, and this at least might challenge me.' You're uncle most definitely had arrogance in spades back then."

Jor apparently couldn't stay silent at that last bit. "Well to be fair I was the top of my class in every subject. I had reason to be arrogant, and besides you certainly put me in my place if I remember correctly. I know those bruises certainly helped me remember."

"True." He chuckled. "He didn't know when to quit, every time I would knock him down he would keep getting right back up. I respected that strength of his, he was a horrible fighter but at least he had a strong will. I ended up personally carrying him home after he passed out from his injuries. Zor met us at the front door and helped me bring him in, and somehow their parents got me to stay for lunch. After that the rest is history."

Seeing an opportunity I couldn't help but ask "Can I learn how to fight too?" Everyone froze and looked at me. Feeling a bit defensive under their stares I spoke up. "What? If Uncle Jor could do it, why can't I?"

Mom sighed "Kara..." Seeing my expression and knowing I wouldn't be swayed by anything she said. She looked at Jor, expecting him to do something as if it were his fault.

Jor seeing her expression panicked "Umm ask Zod?" Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say as Mom's expression turned murderous.

Zod however just looked at me with a serious expression ignoring everyone else's antics. "And why do you want to learn how to fight?"

Looking down at my food for a moment I thought on an answer, I looked back up into his eyes, "I want to be able to protect myself and those I love."

He nodded at my answer, his face and body still deathly serious. "Those are the same reasons I wanted to learn to fight as well. Protecting those weaker than you is the duty of the strong. Are you sure you want that responsibility?" His gaze bored into mine as if trying to see into my head.

"Yes." My gaze just as steely as his own.

His posture and face relaxed, and a small smile formed on his face. "Well met Kara. It would be my honor to assist you in this endeavor ...assuming your parents are okay with it?"

My parents looked at each other for a moment and nodded before turning to us. "Fine. We will allow you to learn. However you must promise us it won't detract from your other studies."

"I promise!" I beamed at them. I truly was happy, even in the Before I always wanted to learn martial arts, now I get to learn a literal alien martial arts.

"So you want to be a princess?" Zod asked out of the blue when everyone was finishing their meal.

"What?" I blinked at him in confusion. '_Princess?'_

"You're wearing a circlet right? Like a princess."

'_Oh' _"Oh! No! It's not a circlet, though I see how you might confuse the two. It's actually a synaptic neural interpreting system." He stared at me blankly, I was about to explain further but mom interrupted me before I could go into more depth.

"Me and your father need to talk to your uncle, why don't you show Zod your room?" Mom looked at me and winked.

"Oh! C'mon Zod you'll love it!" I grabbed his hand and dragged him the whole way to my room.

"Its very….nice?" The general didn't really seem to know what to say in this situation. Somehow I doubted he has ever had to critique a four year olds bedroom before.

I giggled at him "I didn't mean you would like my room silly." with a thought I summoned a tentacle and made it wave at him.

He approached the waving limb and walked around it studying it with a keen eye. "Interesting. This is liquid geo correct? How is it doing that?" He looked towards me once he was done looking at the waving metal.

I tapped the circlet "With this thing I can control the shape it takes."

"Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"Because I invented it."

He stared at me dumbfounded. "What? But that's…." He sighed and rubbed his face. "...never mind i'm forgetting I'm dealing with an El. You guys always tell the impossible to go bother someone else don't you?" After a brief chuckle he focused back on me with an assessing gaze. "So tell me how much control do you have over it?"

With a grin I concentrated and made the tentacle take the shape of a miniature statue of Zod, complete with crossed arms and a scowl.

He mirrored the statue as he stared at me unimpressed. It only lasted a moment as his lips slowly twitched upwards. "May I try?"

"Sorry but it wouldn't fit on your head, and even if it did it needs to be attuned to your specific brain pattern." I honestly apologized as he seemed genuinely interested in my creation.

He waved it off my apology, "It's fine. Perhaps some other day you can make me one."

We spent the next couple minutes working out a training regimine for me. He promised me he would send me a training AI to help me out, and he would come to visit every now and then to give me personal help and to make sure i'm progressing properly. Before long Zod left me to go chat with my parents in the living room, I stayed behind and researched the different Kryptonian fighting styles he had told me about. I never got to say goodbye to Zod as I ended up falling asleep in my cocoon of liquid geo.

**Six years after birth**

We were currently heading towards our families ancestral home on Krypton visiting Jor and Lara. Or at least that's what Dad told me as our ship was breaking into the planet's atmosphere, but to be honest I wasn't listening all that much as I had my face plastered to the glass to watch the transition from black void to purple skies. I never got tired of it much to my parents' amusement. I watched as the glittering city of Kandor got closer and closer. Our ancestral home was located towards the edge of the massive capital.

The home was a massive structure that almost looked reminiscent of a medieval castle from my old world except made of metal and glass and was sat on top of a hill covered in fauna, it was a stark difference compared to the other houses around it that were built using newer designs and had little to no land around them for plant life. The structure was perhaps a few thousand years older than the surrounding buildings. It had been in the El family practically since its inception. We landed on the roof, the roofs access door opened automatically for us, recognizing our biometrics. After a bit of walking we found Jor and Lara sitting in the living room, they stood to greet us as we entered the room.

"Look at you Kara! You've grown so much since I last saw you!" Lara gushed as she hugged me tightly.

"Hey auntie Lara." my voice muffled as my head was currently being crushed into her stomach. Honestly, this woman was so child crazy I was genuinely confused as to how she had waited so long to have Kal.

Once the greetings were done we all sat down and just talked, as it had been a few weeks since we had last seen each other. Eventually Dad and Jor got up and asked me to come with them somewhere as they had something they had wanted to show me. We ended up going to the basement, they lead me to one of the walls where my dad proceeded to press his open palm against a section of it. After a moment the wall slid down into the floor revealing a staircase that went downwards.

I stared at them in shock. "What is this?" I thought I had known every inch of this place as I had explored it extensively in my previous visits. Instead of answering me they walked down the stairs leaving me with no choice other than to follow them.

The silence that filled the stairwell was broken by my father "What we are about to show you, kara, is one of the House of El's well kept secrets." No one else spoke for the remainder of the descent. My mind was too busy trying to make sense of my fathers cryptic words.

When we finally reached the bottom we ended up in a hallway with a thick metal door at the end of it. As we got closer I noticed that the door was practically covered in its entirety in strange glyphs. "This isn't kryptonian….?" Some parts of it looked similar but the moment I focused on them I would realize that they weren't even close.

"Technically it is." Seeing me about to speak, he quickly went on to explain. "This is ancient Kryptonian script, it predates the use of even the Genesis pods."

My eyes widened at that, the genesis pods had been in use for literally a little over twenty thousand years. "Wha-...Bu-...Why is this here! Under our home no less!"

Dad laughed at my gobsmacked reaction. "The Council of Krypton would love for us to believe that the caste system has been around since the dawn of Krypton. But that is simply not true, before the caste system people were free to choose their role in society." As he spoke he started pressing symbols which started to glow. '_Some sort of combination lock?'_ "Before the House of El became a house of scientists, we were a house of warriors." The door started to slowly open revealing the room beyond inch by inch, red light seeped through the widening crack. Once it opened fully we made our way into the room.

It was some sort of chamber with a vaulted ceiling that was so tall the light didn't quite reach it. At the center of the chamber was a dais made of glossy black stone, on it was the source of the red light. Some sort of red plinth made of a glowing deep red crystal, it had what appeared to be a sword handle sticking out of the top. On closer inspection the pommel which seemed to be made of the same glowing crystal was stylized to look like a more archaic version of our houses crest.

"A sword?" I stared, studying the design of the hilt as it was the only thing visible.

Jor chuckled "Not just any sword Kara. This is the Sword of Rao. Its an heirloom of our family."

"This sword, Kara, has been with the House of El almost since its inception. While back then we were mostly a house of warriors, we still had a passion for sciences as well. Our ancestors created this weapon using a Quantum Forge."

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar word. "A Quantum Forge?"

Jor tapped his chin. "Hmm I suppose you probably wouldn't know about those would you? They went out of fashion right around the time when Genesis pods became the norm. Like the matter forges that are in use today, a Quantum Forge can create any object so long as you have the design, actually a quantum forge is superior as it can manipulate the object on the quantum level whereas a matter forge can only go down to the molecular level. Unlike a matter forge however a Quantum forge can only create one single object in its entire lifetime, and the object it creates can only be serviced by the forge that created it. Which as you can imagine is why they lost popularity when matter forges were so much cheaper and have more uses. Also it didnt help that the methods used to create the forges was lost in the clone wars, and considering how unpopular they were to begin with nobody really put much effort in recreating them."

Dad put a hand on Jor' shoulder. "We're getting a bit off topic here." Receiving a nod from his brother he continued. "Before any member of our house is aloud to take their Trials, it is a tradition for them to add something to the sword. It can be literally anything so long as it either adds a new feature or enhances a pre existing one, it doesn't even matter how incremental the enhancements is. I suppose you could call it a rite of passage."

"That doesn't sound so hard." My brows furrowed in confusion, with the way he had been talking he made it sound like some impossible task.

Dad smiled down at me in amusement. "Ah, but there is a catch. Whatever you do _cannot _negatively affect anything about the sword. This sword is the literal accumulated efforts of every El before you, thousands upon thousands of upgrades and adjustments, which you will need to work around. It took me nearly four years before I managed the feat, and my brother three. With every generation its gets harder and harder to accomplish."

I stared at the sword with wide eyes, I gulped suddenly feeling a lot less sure of myself. If it had taken my Uncle Jor-El the literal head scientist of our entire planet three years then what chance did I have? My hands clenched and I glared at the unsuspecting sword, this hunk of metal was what was standing in my way to my Trials? Ha! I wouldn't allow myself to be stopped by this, no matter how hard the task, I _needed_ to do this to be able to have a chance at saving everyone I loved. This hunk of metal wouldn't, no, _couldn't _stop me.

Dad sighed bringing my attention back to him. "You know. I never thought I would be bringing you down here so early. My own father brought me down here when I was fifteen. But you've been breezing through all your lessons so fast that soon enough you'll be taking your trials. Making this necessary." He kneeled down in front of me and brought me in for a hug. "I'm so, so _proud_ of you Kara and all you've accomplished so far. In fact you're actually the youngest El to have been brought down here."

Once he let me go I reached out to touch the 'leather' wrapped handle, I let out a startled yelp however when my dads hand clamped down on my arm like a vice. I looked up at him in shock.

"DO NOT TOUCH IT!" My father's voice boomed and echoed in the empty chamber. Seeing my frightened expression he winced and lowered his voice, letting go of my arm slowly. "Sorry, Kara I didn't mean to frighten you." He looked back at the sword handle for a moment. "The sword can only be wielded in times of peril and only by one with the blood of El running through their veins, but even then the sword will kill anyone it deems not pure in their intent. It has a way of reading a person. It has only ever been successfully drawn a handful of times in our history, each time to defend our planet from grave threats. Those that were unsuccessful at the attempt however….met less than enviable ends. Do you understand Kara? You are to _never _touch the sword under any circumstances? Can you promise me this?"

I slowly edged away from suddenly not so innocent looking blade. Looking back at my father I said with as much seriousness as I could muster. "I promise Father." '_I wouldn't touch the damn thing with a ten foot pole._'

**Seven years after birth**

"AGHHHHHH! THIS IS SO STUPID!" I threw the cup in my hands across the room, only feeling slightly better after hearing the resulting tinkle of shattered glass and splash of liquid. I was mad, no, I was _furious! _I glared the object of my hatred. Its red glow only served to infuriate me even further.

I had thought this task would just be difficult, but no it was _impossible. _The damn sword had so many different subsystems that were all interconnected in someway, that moving a single fucking atom out of alignment caused the whole matrix to fail. And if the simulations I was seeing on the screen in front of me were any indication, such a failure would be bad….for most of Kandor. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten before releasing it.

"Penny, please note for the record that test number four hundred twenty-six was a total failure. Again."

"Yes Mistress Kara." The soothing smooth tone of my personal AI did nothing to negate my anger.

"How many times have I told you to stop with the Mistress crap! Its creepy as all hell." I turned my glare on the apple sized floating sphere of liquid geo behind me.

"One Hundred Eighty Nine times since my creation…._Mistress._" She answered oh so innocently. As if butter wouldn't melt on her processors.

Before that day I didn't think it was possible for an amorphous blob of liquid geo to look smug, but Penny was somehow managing it. I had created her using recordings of my own brainwaves, so I couldn't even get annoyed at her, she was loosely based off of my own thought patterns after all. Oddly enough her response actually made me feel better, perhaps that had been her objective all along.

"I hate you." I said the words with no real heat behind them.

"Love you too Mistress."

Getting back to the project at hand. "Ok, Penny you got any ideas you wanna run by me? I think I'm practically out of them at the moment."

"Well according to all the previous data, it seems that you are actually getting incrementally closer to properly implementing your designs. You may not see it but the data doesn't lie. The problem here however isn't your ability to get everything to work correctly, as that is just a matter of time and effort. The problem is the amount of time it will take you to redesign it after each failure, as I know you wish to pass the Trials as soon as possible." She paused to let me absorb her words before continuing "Their is simply nothing I could suggest that would make this go any faster."

I froze, something in her words striking a cord somewhere in my brain. '_Oh no fucking way!_' "I'm such an idiot. Such a fucking Idiot." Quickly getting up from my position sitting on the floor, I ran over to hug Penny and spun her around a bit, feeling my arms sink a little into the cool metal. "Thank you Penny!" I practically flew up the staircase to get to my room, barely remembering to close the vault like door on the way out of the chamber.

After being told of my task I moved in with my uncle and aunt so that I could have constant unfettered access to the sword. It turned out I always had a room reserved for me as it was the Ancestral home of our House. Kelex had ensured that it mirrored my old room perfectly, he had even included the control circlet and liquid geo floor. I quickly got to work on the new design I had in my head.

What Penny had said made me realize I had been looking at my task all wrong. I didn't need to create a new feature or even upgrade an existing function of the blade. I already had something I could implement or at least the beginnings of one, and it was currently sitting on my head at the moment.

The control circlet, while in its current state it would be pretty much useless for the goal I had in mind, it served as an excellent starting point. If I could upgrade it further I could in theory link a mind directly with the forge itself, which would allow the user to more easily and intuitively create new designs when the old one failed. It would cut down on the development time because it would cut out the need to physically design it. As Penny said the true challenge of upgrading such a complex device wasn't the complexity itself, it was the time it would take before you got it to work.

And since technically it could be considered an upgrade, my parents might even consider it a pass, and even if they didnt I could still use the new feature to design a proper upgrade for the sword. Either way this route was undoubtedly quicker than what I had been doing prior.

After a few days of working out the design of circlet, I came to a road block. Every simulation I ran indicated the kryptonian brain for all its wonders wouldn't have be able to take the load of processing all that data, in short if I tried to put the circlet on now, my brain would literally fry itself trying to keep up. The solution me and Penny came up with was simple enough if a bit unorthodox, if I had an array of computer banks that were all synced to my brainwave patterns I could divert some of the computational load onto them. I could only divert roughly 73% of the load before it was too diluted for me to properly interact with the forge. The remaining 27% was all on me, but assuming that I had all the numbers right I should only suffer a minor migraine at most ...hopefully

It took a bit of work to bring all the necessary computers down the stairs, but with the help of some of the droids in the house it wasn't all that bad. I sat in a padded chair in front of the Quantum forge, staring at the almost delicate looking circlet in my hands, this was the moment of truth, it would either work or it wouldn't. And the only way to tell for sure was to put it on.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I glanced back at my family who were standing behind me. Mom, Dad, Uncle Jor, Auntie Lara, even Kelex. All of them were here to show their support, and in case something went wrong we had a pair of medical droids floating off in the corner of the room. Penny was floating right next to me, either out of worry for my well being and to be close enough to help or just to show her support, I wasn't quite sure which to be honest, probably a mixture of all three.

With one last look around the room, I put the circlet on my head. "Penny initiate merge sequence."

It was quiet and peaceful for a moment, but then suddenly my head was full of so much information. _Too much _information, my head felt like it was going to burst. Right when I genuinely started to fear for my life, the pressure suddenly dropped to manageable levels as the computers took up the load. With a gasp of relief I focused on the streams of information I was getting. I '_stared'_ at all the different criss crossing streams in wonder, somehow I knew exactly what each stream represented, I examined the lattice and with a slight mental nudge on one of the streams I '_watched'_ as all the other streams shifted to accommodate automatically although since it was just a random change, the whole lattice work unraveled violently.

_It worked! With the circlet I was able to literally see how everything interconnected, if I spent more time with it I could definitely figure out how to put in my own change. _I was excited, and for good reason, with this new system I made it a much easier task for all future El's.

"Penny. End merge sequence." I let out a sigh of relief as the constant pressure between my ears finally faded to a dull throb.

I whipped the circlet off my head and turned to my waiting family. The grin on my face must have clued them in as I soon found myself being crushed to death in the center of a group hug.

'_Meh. There are worse ways to go._'

**Eight years after birth**

I was right there were worse ways to go.

Currently I found myself curled up on the floor, my arms clutched protectively around my abdomen. The pain radiating from it was immense and it took nearly all my will power to avoid retching.

"Oh come on Kara don't be so dramatic. I've seen you shrug off harder blows." The amused tone of my assailant spoke from above me.

I got onto my hands and knees before glaring up at him, the sweat made the hair that escaped my ponytail stick to my face, no doubt making the glare even less effective. "Shut...Up...Zod." I managed between pants.

"Oh? Does the _delicate Princess _still have some fight left in her?" His voice contained even more amusement than before.

He knew how much I hated being called such a girly name and the way he put so much emphasis on the word lit a fire in me, I would pound his face in if it was the last thing I did. "AGHHH!" I screamed in impotent rage as I shot back up to my feet and attempted to tackle him.

The sight of his eyes widening in surprise sent a vindictive thrill through my bruised body. '_This time I had him, there was no possible way he would be able to-'_

Whatever I was thinking at that moment came to an abrupt stop as Zod almost casually grabbed one of my extended arms and pulled me up and over himself, brutally slammed me into the mat. I just layed their lamenting my fate of being one big mildly concussed bruise for the rest of my existence, I suddenly found it impossible to breathe and I sat up coughing up the frigid water Zod had so kindly poured over my form.

"Fuck you!"

"Language, Princess. What would your parents think of you swearing like that?" He attempted to sound scolding, but the amused condescension was unmistakable.

"They would side with me and call you out for the Bastard you are." My response was less than mature but I was bruised, sweaty, and now I was sitting in a puddle of cold water.

Zod finally seemed to realize my less than pleased state as with a sigh he grabbed my arm and hauled me up to my feet. Although that didn't mean much as the moment he let go I flopped back to the floor in a boneless soaked heap. The General knew a losing battle when he saw one so with some reluctance he sat on the floor next to me so we could talk easier.

"You've improved Kara." The glare I sent him must have clued him in on what I thought of such a statement. "No really Kara. If you were one of my cadets I would have been proud of your progress. And besides you really shouldn't feel bad about getting beat by me. I have spent literally my entire life learning to fight, perfecting my technique, I was LITERALLY born to fight. The fact that you have taken so well to my training is a testament to your determination, especially considering the science caste doesn't have many augmentations meant for physical labor." Slowly but surely my anger was morphing into something resembling pride at his praise. "However you need to learn to control your emotions better, that last attack? That was pitiful. A warrior is only as good as his mind, and your Kara have one of the brightest minds of your generation. Use it. Never let your emotions get the better of you in a fight. You understand me Kara?"

I nodded my assent, guilt worming through my heart at disappointing him. I didn't have the energy to give a verbal answer.

He seemed satisfied with just a nod. "Good. Now you go freshen up, you've got a big day tomorrow, with your Trials. Unfortunately I won't be around to congratulate you when you pass." seeing my questioning look he elaborated. "Theirs some gravitic fluctuations five light minutes out of our system, were going out to look around and see what is causing it. It could be nothing or it could be the precursor to a fleet jumping in."

As he began walking away I managed to scrounge up the energy to speak. "Be careful out their Zod." If he heard the worry in my voice he made no mention of it, simply waving over his shoulder lazily in acknowledgment.

/

I stared in wonder, awe, and some trepidation at the red and gold crest on the back of my right hand. It represented seven years of near constant study. But it also was just a stepping stone I reminded myself, a means to an end. I didn't _need_ to feel anything regarding the symbol. I just needed it to better my chances to save my loved ones. Not just them though, I wanted to save this planet that had wormed its way into my heart, everything from the purple hue of the sky, the way the beautiful red moons filled up the night sky, all the way down to how nice the people were, although by human standards they would be considered cold and aloof they were still rather pleasant once you got used to the chill. I didn't _want _to feel pride in my achievements or my House, I didn't _want _to care about this planet's fate. But it was impossible not to feel _something _in regards to these things after spending years in contact with it.

Indoctrination was a bitch that way.

The plan originally had been to just save my family, but somewhere along the way I came to genuinely love krypton. It was my home, and I refused to lose it without at least a fight.

With this symbol I now officially held the title of Thinker, and was considered an adult in the eyes of the law. Krypton didn't use age to determine adulthood, but generally all those who passed their Trials were usually around the age of seventeen or up. I had created quite a stir when I walked into the Academy of Kandors testing facility, all the other kids had been literally over twice my age. Everyone thought it was some sort of joke, hell a few of them had even approached me to ask if I was lost. It was quite amusing seeing their reactions when I passed them on the way out after receiving my house crest.

With a brief bit of concentration not too dissimilar to when I worked with liquid geo, I watched as the 'tattoo' sunk beneath my skin becoming invisible, the 'tattoo' was actually made up of the organic nanites that could with a mental command disperse throughout my body, technically I could summon the symbol anywhere on my body, however it was both tradition and simple practicality that dictated it be summoned on the dominant hand.

Even my outfit had changed after passing my Trial that morning, as now the once blank shield was now filled in. I couldn't stop the surge of pride I felt when I saw the completed crest glimmer in the light. With a happy grin I got up off the park bench I had been sitting on for the past few minutes. I had the whole day to myself as both my parents, aunt, and uncle were at an important meeting on Argo.

With nothing else to do, I decided I would just explore the city, Rao knows I didn't spend enough time outside as it was. I needed to take advantage of every scrap of free time I got, especially since now that I passed my trials I could actually actively work towards figuring out how to save everyone. As a Thinker I would have unrestricted access to pretty much all of krypton's databanks, and as an added bonus I would be receiving a personal lab stocked to my specifications and sizable funds to do with as I pleased.

With a grin I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves, after putting them on I tapped my heels together twice in rapid succession. With a slight hum my feet rose up into the air. It wasn't flying by any means as I couldn't rise more than a foot off the ground but it certainly beat walking. With my shoes in hover mode the gloves also activated, they were used to stabilize myself when in the air and to help make sharp turns. All of it was controlled through mental commands that were read through my nervous system, via sensors in both the gloves and boots. With them I could explore the city without worrying about fatigue and just enjoy the sights, and it was admittedly fun zooming around with the wind in my face, and my hair whipping behind me. It reminded me of the times I would go rollerblading as a child.

It was night time when I finally decided that I had had enough of exploring. As much as the sights and smells of Kandor entertained me, I just wanted to go home and take a nap. After all this would probably be the last day I would get to do such a frivolous thing, I would probably be spending every waking hour couped up in my new lab, no rest for the wicked and all that.

As I was starting to head home I heard the distinct rumbling sound of something large entering our atmosphere, I ignored it however as such sounds were a common occurrence on Krypton, especially since Kandor was literally the capital. However I stopped walking when I heard a sound that didn't belong in a capitol city such as Kandor. A sonic boom, or to be more accurate multiple sonic booms.

'_What the hell? Kryptonian ships don't make sonic booms as they slow down once they get deep enough into the atmosphere to generate them.' _

I looked up into the sky to see what was going on, I froze upon seeing the literal hundreds of fireballs falling straight towards the city. '_A meteor shower? On Krypton? The planets automated defenses wouldn't have let anything bigger than a baseball enter the atmosphere.'_ If it had just been one or even two meteors I would have just shrugged it off as some sort of glitch or just luck, but this many making it through? No. Something was _seriously _wrong.

I watched in muted horror as the meteors hit buildings with enough force to literally pass right through and down towards the streets below. Some of the flying transports were literally swatted out of the sky by the meteors in fiery explosions. This was quite possibly the biggest disaster in the last hundred years of the city's, no, the world's history. Kryptonians had lived such an Idyllic and peaceful life that there was no doubt in my mind that this event would be talked about in hushed tones for years if not decades to come.

One of the meteors actually crashed just down the street from me, everyone around me including myself screamed in fear as it had roared over our heads, the shockwave of its impact flung everyone off their feet, although since I was hovering I managed to get away with just getting pushed back before stabilizing myself. After a minute of hearing the distant explosions and crashes, the silence that came after was deafening in its own way. Eventually someone took the first step towards the crater, and as if some silent message had been sent everyone soon followed.

We all crowded around the edge of the crater looking down into the still smoking depth. The lady behind me gasped, "What was that?" She looked down at me briefly before turning her eyes back to the smoke speaking a little louder, her voice a little more shrill. "Did you see that? I swear I saw something mo-" She never got to finish as something shot out of the smoke whizzing past my head so closely that it left a shallow cut on my cheek, I felt something warm and wet splatter and roll down the back of my neck. Hanging in the air in front of me was some sort of thick metal cable, one end I could see originated from the depth of the smoke, the other end went over my shoulder, with shaking and clammy palms I turned around to see where it led.

Some part of me already knew what I was going to see and yet I almost shot backwards into the crater in my shock. The woman that had been speaking before now had the end of the cable embedded in her eye socket, her face was frozen in silent agony and her body was shaking violently as if she was in some sort of seizure.

I heard something shift in the crater and whirled around to face whatever it was. A gust of wind dissipated the smoke enough for me to get a clear view of whatever had shot the cable. It was a humanoid robot of somesort, standing a little over seven feet tall with a matt black body with chrome accents, its head looked like a skull with blazing red orbs in its sockets. On its chest it had three glowing green circles connected by two lines forming a V. With a sickening squelch the cable released and retracted into its outstretched palm, splattering more blood on my face on its return trip.

I had only seen the robot for a moment before darkness enveloped us all as every single electronic device on the street suddenly shut down, including my hover boots. The sudden shift in light took everyone by surprise. For a brief moment the world was silent and dark. Then the screaming started.

**Leave a review or PM me if you have any ideas or just want to talk I love reading people's comments/ideas/Questions, or just having conversations.**

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**

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	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **

**Hey guys! Hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter.**

**So someone asked me what universe this is, and my answer is that this is an amalgamation of all of comics, shows, movies, and my personal head canons. So there's nothing to really compare it to as im literally just stitching together hundreds of different continuities to make this universe. This is its own universe/continuity. I also take some liberty in changing certain things. An example of such a change would be the ages of the El brothers, in canon Jor is older than Zor. But in my opinion considering how old Kara is by the time Kal is born I find it to make more sense if Zor is actually the older sibling. Another one would be the city of Argo itself, in canon the city was either on a different planet/moon or it was on krypton and somehow survived the blast using some technology its different depending on the comic but in my story Argo is on a planet killing asteroid that was captured and inserted into kryptons orbit.**

**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Please Review or PM. It really motivates me!**

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**Chapter 4**

I was still in shock however as all I did was stare blankly at the thing before me, its red eyes and glowing chest was the only source of light, as even the four moons were covered in a thick blanket of clouds. But it was thanks to the fact that I was staring right at it that I was able to see it take aim at me in the glow of its own lights, this allowed me to dive out of the way, barely managing to dodge it. As I started to scrambled back to my feet, It casually jumped out of the crater before I could make it. I cried out in pain as one of its feet landed on my ankle, pain flaring up that limb as what had to have been hundreds of pounds of metal pressed down on it threatening to snap it if it hadn't already with the initial impact.

I could only watch helplessly pinned to the ground as it once more aimed its palm at me, the sounds of the street seemed to fade away to be replaced with the pounding of my heart. Suddenly the dark street was illuminated when a yellow spherical shield materialized around the robot, a red plasma bolt streaked across the street and splashed harmlessly around its curved surface, the darkness returning as the shield faded back into invisibility. The pressure on my leg disappeared as the robot turned away to deal with who ever had shot at it.

Now with my leg free I got to my feet, nearly falling as my ankle screamed in protest of the action. I grit my teeth and limped away from the yellow and red flashes going on behind me. I only made it a few dozen yards when I was knocked off my feet by an explosion off to my right.

Shakily I got back up, my vision swam from hitting my head on the hard floor. I looked at what had caused the explosion only for my jaw to drop once I realized what the fiery wreckage of twisted metal was. It was an air speeder. It seems that even the vehicles were being affected by the power outage. '_And if the distant explosions were anything to go by, then its affecting much more than just this area._'

I looked to the silver vambraces adorning my forearms. "Penny what the hell's going on!" No response, not even the smallest ripple in the smooth metal. "Penny?!" With a sigh I kept hobbling along, putting the worry I felt for my AI out of my head. The only thing I knew was that I would be safer at home, hopefully.

I ran from street to street taking side streets whenever I would see those glowing red eyes. Often I would find the robots in the midsts of fighting the police forces, it was easy to avoid those streets as the flashes of color lit up the entire street. I had actually seen a few robots be destroyed, but those instances were a rare thing as they only happened under concentrated fire from the less powerful blasters the police wielded. I could only assume the police communications were knocked out as well, since it seemed that those times where they were grouped enough to kill the attackers was just a matter of happenstance and not any actual planning on their end. But for the most part the defenders while they fought bravely they were still losing, and losing badly. For every skirmish I saw be victorious, I saw at least triple the amount of defeats. The attackers though must have still had communication as I saw more than one close fight get interupted by the arrival of robot reinforcements. The amount of bodies I passed were enumerable, I stopped trying to check for survivors after the first couple dozen, once I realized the robots always go for headshots once they were able to.

After what felt like hours I finally made it to the base of the hill that our home sat on. I climbed up the stairs that led up to the house using the railing to help alleviate the pressure on my injured ankle.

To my surprise when I reached the top the front door opened with a hiss and the bright light from inside burned my eyes after so long in the dark. I nearly fell back down the stairs in surprise, but a familiar metal limb wrapped around my arm and pulled me into the house, the door shutting behind me.

"Mistress Kara! I had been so worried for you!"

I stared in shock at the still functioning robot. "Kelex? How does the house still have power? Everything outside stopped working! Do you know what's happening?! Robots just fell from the sky, and then….then...people started dying and..and.." Words just kept pouring from my lips and I couldn't bring myself to stop. In fact I couldn't seem to get enough air for some reason.

"Mistress Kara! You need to calm yourself and breathe. You are safe here." Kelex' voice was gentler than I had ever heard, I felt as its metal limb patted my shoulder consolingly

Listening to its word I took a deep slow breathe, holding it for a moment before releasing it. Now a bit calmer, I realized that I must have been hyperventilating after the harrowing experience I had been put through in the city. I had never seen people die before, let alone on such a large scale.

"I'm sorry," Taking another deep breathe I continued. "I-, Do you know what's happening?" I stared at the floating robot hopefully.

"No need to apologize Kara. Unfortunately I do not know exactly what is happening out there as it appears that the entirety of the planet has gone dark. The cause of the power failure was due to a cyber attack so massive in scope that it dwarfs anything ever previously recorded. The result was that everything connected to the net was put into a forced shutdown mode."

I winced at those words, almost every single piece of tech on the planet had some sort of wireless capability. My brows furrowed as I looked around at the still functioning lights. "Then how is all of this still running? Or you for that matter."

"Mistress Kara!" Kelex sounded almost scandalized "This is the ancestral home of the house of El. Generations of the brightest minds of Krypton have grown up in these halls and almost every single one was involved somehow in contributing to the defences. I believe it wouldn't be egotistical to say that this house is one of the most secure structures on the planet. The moment the security systems detected the attack it cut itself off from the net. Though admittedly the virus proved to be a rather tenacious one and managed to take a few of the houses systems down. Would you like a list the affected systems?"

We walked deeper into the house letting the front door shut behind us. "No, at least not yet Kelex, I have more important queries. Do you know what happened to the military? I only saw police forces in the streets, and yes im aware that the fleet is currently at the edge of the system, but our ground bases should have scrambled forces by now. Were they affected by the virus as well?" I hoped I was wrong, as if that was the case that meant that the fleet in space would have no way of knowing an attack was occuring on the planet with all of our communications down.

"The Kryptonian fleet left Krypton approximately seventeen hours ago in response to an armada of enemy ships jumping into the system. Their onboard computers should be more than capable of defending against the virus, however since all comms are currently shut down the fleet most likely unaware of the attack planetside. I have no way of knowing what happened to the military base, however, I calculate that there is a ninety eight percent probability that most if not all the bases are currently under some form of siege, or have been destroyed with an orbital strike as there is currently nothing to contest the enemies position above the planet. When the attack began my sensors picked up faint tremors in the ground that are consistent to those generated by continuous kinetic weapons fire."

I went pale and stopped breathing for a moment as I realized the true horror of the situation. If the enemy managed to drop hundreds of troops from orbit without them being intercepted then what was to stop them from just razing the planet with Kinetic strikes? The reason such tactics were not usually implemented was because in most cases planets don't just sit around while you drop multiton rods of death on them. But with no real means of fighting them at our disposal….kryptons doom could be a matter of hours, not years.

Taking a moment to gather myself, I closed my eyes and calmed my once more erratic breathing. Now wasn't the time to panic, now was a time for action. Once I had managed to calm myself, I opened my eyes. "Kelex. Tell me all the systems that are down at the moment." While the robot proceeded to list all of the affected systems I made my way to my room.

A total of twenty seven systems had been knocked out, most of them thankfully were inconsequential, however three of them were more than slightly worrying given the situation. "The medical wing, defensive weapons, _and_ all the sensors are down?" I had hoped that maybe I had heard wrong or maybe the AI had somehow been mistaken, its verbal confirmation however crushed those hopes.

_Think Kara! Think! There has to be something were missing here. Something that can hel-_

A bout of inspiration stuck me forcing me to stop in my tracks. "Wait...Kelex you said that communications were down? But we still have that tight beam communication laser on the roof right?" I remember having to convince my family to not scrap the outdated piece of equipment years ago, they said no one used such archaic methods of communication anymore.

Kelexs form rippled for a moment in thought. "Yes. And while the laser is operational I fail to see how it would prove helpful, there are no laser arrays that can receive any data you tried to send."

"That's fine. We don't need them to receive the data, only the beam."

"The beam? How wou-" Kelex twitched for a seconds as it realized what I had in mind. "Oh...I see. That might actually work."

I grinned at Kelex. "Exactly! We don't need to send them a message. Just get their attention. After all, nothing gets your attention quite like a five petawatt laser hitting you from behind. And even if we miss their sensors will at least alert them of beam passing them."

"I have already calculated their most likely positions, we can fire the beam in a sweeping pattern for approximately seven point five seconds. I calculate a direct hit on at least one of the ships to be about 36%."

I blinked at those numbers. "Only seven point five seconds? And why such a low chance of hitting them? Can't you see them from here?"

Kelex stared at me for a moment I swear he was about to sigh. "At the moment Wegthor is blocking our line of sight, but thanks to its fractured nature in approximately five minutes and sixteen seconds a gap will appear for seven point five seconds that would allow us a clear view of the other side, but the gap is small enough to limit the size of the sweep which in turn lowers our chance of getting a direct hit. We could wait for Wegthor to move if you wish? However that would take nearly an hour. As it would take four hours for the beam to reach them I would not suggest that option."

"Okay. Fire the beam when the gap appears. Put as much power into it as the emitters will allow. I don't care if you melt the damn thing in the process. We need to do everything we can to ensure they don't miss our signal. The fate of Krypton might just depend on it."

"Yes Mistress Kara. I suggest you vacate the premises before firing the beam. With the city currently shut down, such a large expenditure of energy will be like a beacon to the enemy. And with all the defensive measures of the house down, I do not believe it would be wise to stay."

"Sure thing Kelex. Let me just pick something up from my room and we can be on our way." I said as I got to my door, I actually ended up walking right into the metal door and falling my ass. "What the hell!" I mumbled holding my nose checking for a break. "Why isn't the door opening?"

Kelex answered immediately. "All the sensors are down at the moment. That includes the biometric scanners. You will need to manually open the door." If I didn't know Kelex was a class three AI and incapable of it I would have sworn he sounded amused at my situation.

I quickly got off the floor and entered my room, putting on the circlet I commanded a metal box to rise out of the ground and come to rest on my bed. Etched into the top of the box was the house of El crest, pressing my palm onto the crest I flinched as I felt it prick my hand. After a moment the box opened with a hiss. I retrieved its contents and laid them out on the bed. A pair of plain unadorned bronze colored Vambraces rested before me.

I jumped in surprise when Kelex spoke over my shoulder "What is that Mistress Kara? Its not logged in any of our files."

"That's because I didn't want anyone to know about it." I cringed as I said the next part. "..it's not exactly legal."

"I see...I'm assuming it can help our situation somehow? I don't imagine you would waste time coming back for it if it was useless." Kelex didn't even sound phased at my apparent law breaking...Although in hindsight suppose that shouldn't have surprised me considering how long Kelex had served our House. Sometimes rules need to be bent a little to make scientific advancements.

"Honestly? I'm not really sure what it will do. I'm not even sure if will even turn on, let alone work as intended. It's a prototype I slapped together a few weeks ago in my spare time while working on the sword." That said I made to put them on and quickly found a problem. Penny was currently wrapped around my wrists, and since she was in lockdown mode I had no way of getting her off. I couldn't even use the circlet to control her since the Liquid Geo that made her up was specifically designed to only react to a specific frequency. No liquid geo field emitters on krypton, including the ones in my room, used that specific frequency. I did that as a safety precaution so it would be impossible for anyone to affect her accidentally or otherwise.

But now what at the time what had seemed like a great idea was now a great detriment. "Kelex, do you think you could remove Penny without damaging her...or me for that matter?"

Kelex inspected my wrists for a moment. "Yes Mistress Kara, while I cannot awaken Penny, I can access her bios and change her form. Just a moment." A small tendril extended from Kelex touching both bracers, and after a few seconds of nothing the metal started to ripple and slowly detach itself from my arm, forming Pennys default form of an apple sized sphere.

I grabbed her and gently places her in the box "You'll be safe her Penny." I whispered to my friend unsure if she was able to hear me or not. I sealed it with a tap on the crest and put it back under the floor for safekeeping.

I snapped the bracers onto my wrists, shivering slightly as the cool metal pressed into my skin. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I tapped the bracers together five times in rapid succession. I shut my eyes and waited for them to activate. Seconds ticked by with nothing happening. Slowly I opened my eyes and stared at the bracers. "They should have activated already. I guess they don't wor-" The bracers made a slight humming sound making me freeze, and stare with bated breath. Slowly a luminescent House of El crest began to flicker to life on the bronze surface. Shining with a bright golden light. Instantly I could feel the effects. My ankle which had been throbbing sharply in pain was now starting to fade and I could feel my tired body begin to fill with strength. I had never felt so good! I could feel the power coursing through my veins. It was heady and intoxicating. It-it was...actually it was starting to get a little uncomfortable. The warm and comforting sensation that was emanating from my wrists was starting to get almost unbearably warm. A quick glance at the vambraces showed the El symbol was still getting brighter, it was almost painful to even look at it now. I dropped to my knees in sudden agony as it suddenly felt like I had molten magma injected into every cell in my body It was so sudden and harsh that I didn't even scream. My vision was starting to swim as I writhed on the floor, but I was able to see Kelex lean down and slam my wrists together.

Like a switch the pain disappeared immediately leaving me to gasp for air. "Thank….you….Im not sure what just happened."

Kelex reached down and helped me off the floor. "Mistress Kara. My sensors indicate that, that was artificial yellow sun radiation. Is that analysis correct?" Seeing my nod it continued. "Then the answer is simple. Sunlight that is not the same as Raos is incredibly poisonous to Kryptonians."

I stared at the robot in confusion, but before I could open my mouth a loud bang reverberated throughout the house. "What was that?!" I hissed at Kelex.

"Something blasted the roof doors open! Come! You need to leave, now!" A tentacle wrapped around my arm and dragged my stumbling form out of the room. We barely made it ten feet down the hall before a voice rang throughout the house. "KARA!" A voice I recognized immediately. I ripped my arm out of Kelexs grip and ran towards the voice.

As I turned the corner I could see the voices source running towards me. "Mom!"

We met in the middle and hugged each other tightly sinking to the floor together. "Kara! Oh thank Rao your safe!" We spent a few moments just hugging. Eventually she pushed me away to inspect me. "Are you hurt at all?"

I took a moment to take stock and shook my head. While the bracers had hurt me they also healed my ankle and all the cuts and scrapes I got from my run through the city. "No. Im fine mom, but how are you even here? You were on Argo when the attack happened!"

She nodded "I was indeed on Argo. I managed to get down here with an experimental stealth ship of your fathers. Everything went smoothly until I came in for a landing. The communication laser fired as I crossed in front of it. It barely clipped my wing but it caused my to crash land on the roof."

I winced when she told me what happened, "Sorry mom." I proceeded to explain my reasoning for firing the laser.

Her eyes widened and she brought me in for another hug, and kissed my crown. "You brilliant daughter of mine!"

Kelex must have caught up with me as I heard his voice behind me. "Mistress Alura. You need to take Kara and leave. The laser undoubtedly drew attention. This location is not secu-" He didn't even get to finish his warning before the wall next to us exploded inward sending us flying into the opposite wall, I slammed into it head first, stars exploded across my quickly fading vision. The last thing I saw before my vision faded to black was my mother standing before me facing the smoking hole, and a pair of fiery red dots floating amidst the smoke.

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** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:**

I would like to suggest a fanfic to y'all, its called "The Optimised Wish Project" by GanHOPE326, it a Dragon Ball fic, but ive never seen a dbz fic quite like this one, its a refreshing story in my opinion. Please do me the favor of at least checking it out? Also pm me if you liked it or not, lol it drives me crazy not knowing if anyone liked something I recommended (food, movies, shows, books, etc.)

Hmm so question would you guys prefer short chapters I can pump out quickly? Or long chapters that take longer to produce?

Honestly im not sure about this chapter as I've never written scenes like this before. Please let me know how I did.

Enjoy the chapter and remember to review/pm if you have any questions, comments, or ideas.

Btw next chapter should be either tonight or tomorrow.

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**CHAPTER 5**

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_Pain._

It was the first thing that registered as my eyes slowly opened. Not the sights around me, not the smell of smoke, not the distant explosions. But pain. I slowly crawled into a sitting position fighting the intense wave of nausea. I put my hand on the back of my head where the pain was originating, with a hiss I brought my hand back. Looking with more than a little confusion at the brilliant crimson that my hand appeared to be. _That was wrong wasn't it? _I blinked slowly, uncomprehendingly at my hand. I couldn't shake the feeling that _something_was wrong with the situation. _Situation? _I tried to think but it was _hard, _too hard.

'_Perhaps some rest would help? Yes…just a quick nap, that wouldn't be bad right? I could figure out what was wrong after some re-.'_My eyes were already closing before the thought was finished.

When my eyes once more opened it was to something shaking me. No, not something, I knew this something, it had a name...I just couldn't remember it...why couldn't I remember it? Panic, was burning its way through the fog of pain and confusion.

_I needed to remember!'_

_Wrong._

'_Why did I need to remember?._

_Wrong._

'_Why was it so hard to think?'_

'_Mom would probably know the answer.'_

'_Mom? Mom. MOMMOMomOmOMOMOMOmO-'_

A glint of red in the corner of my eye, made me freeze. I focused on it and saw it was my hand, it was coated in a shiny red-

_Red eyes, red liquid, RED EyEs. ReD eYeS._

I clutched my head at the sudden spike of pain. '_That thing was still shaking me? Why was it doing that? What was its name again? Why did that feel so important?' _I put my hand on the floating metal body of the _thing _to push it away, a wave of nausea hit me once more at the sensation of my hand sinking into cool metal. But the sudden shock of the cool surface seemed to center me better than my nap had, everything felt clear for the first time since waking. I knew the moment of clarity was fleeting however, I didn't know how I _knew_, but I knew it regardless. If I didn't take advantage of this singular moment I wouldn't be getting another chance.

Acting quickly I slammed my arms together repeatedly, the sharp ring of metal on metal sending lances of pain through my skull. And just like that the moment was over and I was thrust back under the unending storm of confusion and panic.

But my efforts were not in vain as slowly but surely I felt clarity coming back to me, the pain and nausea quickly fading to be replaced with a different sensation. One that was quickly going from comforting to painful. With a gasp I turned the vambraces off before I would be unable to. This time the heady feeling had lasted even shorter than earlier the pain ramping up almost faster than I could register the pleasure.

"Mistress Kara!" Kelexs voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I realized he must have been trying to get my attention the entire time, but in my previous confusion I could barely register his presence let alone work out that he was trying to communicate with me.

I blinked up at him, still trying to shake off the remnants of what appeared to be a concussion, and unlike earlier the burning pain from the vambraces didn't just disappear. Instead it lingered leaving me with a slight burning sensation throughout my entire body. It was something to worry about later. I had more immediate concerns to worry about. "Kelex? What's going on?" The vambraces healed a majority if not all of the damage however I couldn't seem to recall how I had gotten in my situation.

"Mistress Kara, we need to leave now! Your mother won't be able to keep it busy for long. You need to go while you still can!"

My brows furrowed in confusion "Mom? What are you ta-" I froze as the memories from the previous few hours came back to me. My skin paled and I felt dizzy. I shot up to my feet, only to end up stumbling into and bracing myself against the wall from the wave of vertigo. I looked around the hall frantically, looking for any sign of my Mom. My heart fell as I didn't see anything, no signs of my mother, or even the robot.

I whirled back on Kelex "Kelex! Where is she!"

"Mistress Alura ordered me to see you to safety. Now co-"

"Kelex! Tell me n-"

"Mistress Kara we do not have the ti-"

Holding up my right hand I commanded my crest to form. "This is a primary directive from Kara Zor-El, Thinker of the House of El. You WILL disregard all prior orders and take me to my mother. Now!" Technically I couldn't give Kelex orders that countermanded orders given by an elder of my House, but since I doubted my mother had the time to invoke her Crest, my more official order outranked her informal one.

Kelex froze for a moment a blue beam shot out and scanned my Crest for a few seconds. "Verification confirmed, Administrator protocols invoked by Kara Zor-El. Purging all prior orders from data stores...Purge complete...This way Lady Kara." He promptly started to float down the hall. His monotonous voice causing me to wince. I didn't like doing this to him but I couldn't allow him to take me away when mom was in danger.

I followed him through the halls and down to the basement level. All the doors we went through looked as though something had ripped through the metal, and along the walls were what looked like plasma burns, judging by the direction the burns and gouges were facing I could only assume my mom had some sort of blaster on her. It seemed my mom had taken the longest route possible and closed every door behind her to buy as much time as she could. I only hoped that I could get to her in time.

The last door we came across gave me pause however. It was the hidden door that led to the sword room. The pause was only momentary as I could hear the static filled whine of superheated plasma flying through the air came from down the staircase. I sprinted down them four at a time as I knew the room it was coming from was a dead end, meaning my mom was trapped in a room with the killer bot.

The scene I came upon made my blood freeze in my veins. My mother was pinned against the far wall past the plinth that held the sword, the robots hand was wrapped around her throat cutting off her air and simultaneously holding her in place. Its other hand though was slowly rising towards her head, I knew without a shadow of a doubt what it was attempting to do, I had seen countless people be killed by the same method today. The realization spurred me into action as I charged towards them yelling at the top of my lungs in the hopes of getting it to stop or at least hesitate. The robot did stop for a moment to turn its head towards me, it must have classified me as a non threat however because it quickly turned back to my mom and continued to raise its arm.

It's shoulder joint had been slightly warped by the heat of my moms gun, the arm made a loud screeching sound as the robot forced it to move despite the damage. That was in my favor however as the loud noise was enough to cover up the sound of metal striking metal. I got within ten feet it didn't think of me as enough of a threat to turn around for, I got within five feet and it still didn't so much as twitch in my direction, its focus was entirely on my mother. Even when I wrapped my small arms around its waist my threat level did not go up in its eyes. So when I heaved it off its feet and flung it bodily back across the room and out the door, the robot didn't even resist. Whatever satisfaction I received from such an action immediately turned to dust as I stared in horror at my mom, the robot had fired its cable as I had started to lift it and while it didn't hit it intended target it had still hit her, right in the throat. She stared at me with wide eyes, her hands pressing against the hole in her throat, It must have hit at least nicked an artery as blood was literally shooting out from between her fingers.

Before I could even move towards her Kelex shot past me and wrapped around her throat, its medical protocols would ensure that she was kept alive as long as physically possible. I wanted to help but I knew that until I dealt with the robot it would be pointless.

Time was against both me and my mom, as I could already feel the burning sensation begin to ramp up, soon the pain would be enough to incapacitate me and the vambraces had only been active for less than five seconds. I spun around and charged out the door and tackled the robot that was in the process of getting back to its feet, I straddled it and began raining punches down on it. Each punch hitting harder and faster than the one before. The pain was getting stronger, it was almost reaching unbearable levels, my adrenaline fueled body just used the pain to throw stronger punches. At this point I was hardly aware of anything just the pain and the knowledge that if I stopped both me and mom would die. Just as I was about to succumb to the agony something unthinkable happened.

The robot caught both of my wrists in a vice like grip, stopping my arms cold. Being a prototype, and a non combat oriented prototype at that, they were rather fragile, and after only a few seconds the vambraces began to spark and flicker under the pressure being exerted on them.

Feeling my power begin to wane, my struggling increased in its intensity.'_No!' _My vision was starting to get blurry from the tears welling up in my eyes, from both the pain and crushing realization that I would be dying here with my mom soon to follow. No saving Krypton, no saving my parents, no saving my aunt and uncle, and I had no one to blame but myself. If I had planned better, maybe spent more time studying, something, anything! I was the one with the foreknowledge, I was the one that _could _save everyone. I had the advantage and I dropped the ball. Everyone who died was on me. Krypton blowing up, this attack, everything was my fault!

I stared down at the thing that would be my death, its red eyes bored into mine, and I came to a realization. Earlier on the streets when I had first seen one of the robots, I had thought their eyes glowed with malevolence, that they seemed to enjoy causing destruction and despair. But I was wrong, as I stared into its eyes I realized it wasnt filled with rage or any other emotion, it was empty. _Soulless. _The things that had killed so many people today, the _thing _that was about to kill _me_. It wasnt doing it out of some sense of need or desire. It was just a machine following its programming.

_An automaton._

The thing that had caused so much pain, the thing that had hurt my mother, the thing that was now at that very moment in the process of crushing my wrists was just a fucking Automaton. I was going to die because of what was essentially just a pile of metal and polymers. It didnt even care if I lived or died, it didn't _feel _anything.

My despair turned to rage, an anger that burned so fiercely so all consuming that I didn't even flinch when my left wrist finally cracked. I glared down at the _thing _beneath me. It felt like my eyes were burning with my rage, a painful pressure was starting to build right behind my eyes, my vision was starting to tinge red from it. Some part of me distantly noted that I had probably busted a capillary in my eyes from the stress. The pressure behind my eyes made it feel like they would burst at any moment. The red was so intense now that I could hardly make out even the robots silhouette despite it being literally a foot away.

"AGGHHH!" I screamed in its face in both impotent rage and pain. One last spike in the pressure was the only warning I got before what felt like my burning rods were plunged into my eye sockets. This time the scream that crossed my lips was one born of pure agony. "Aaggghhhhhhh!" I didn't even notice that I suddenly found my hands free as I curled up on the floor and held my eyes in some desperate attempt to lessen the pain. I could feel a warm liquid coming from my eyes and I wasn't sure if it was tears or blood. I couldn't see anything but blackness.

I layed there for a dozen seconds before realizing that not only were my arms free, but I didn't even hear the robot moving. For a brief moment I feared that I had died, but then I remembered the fresh hell that were my eyes and promptly threw that idea out the window, and the still lingering burning sensation that seemed to encompass my whole body. After a few more seconds of not hearing anything I hesitantly got on my hands and knees. "Kelex…?"

"Yes Kara? Are you injured? Should I come help you?" I heard his voice from my left, and judging by the distance I assumed he was still wrapped around my mom's neck.

"NO! Stay with mom. I am injured but its not life threatening. I just….I just…." I swallowed harshly "...I just can't see." I pushed the panic that wanted to surge within me down as best I could. I needed to think clearly, my mothers life was on the line after all. "Is the robot still functional?" I prayed Kelex would give me some good news.

"No Mistress Kara...you appeared to have released some sort of...optical beam which melted a hole in its head." Kelex sounded both surprised and more than a little confused, which granted his lack of knowledge on a yellow suns reaction to a kryptonian physiology was a given. Though to be fair I was surprised as well. I didn't think I would have been capable of heat vision, but then again considering the state it left my eyes in maybe I _shouldn't_have been able too?

'_Okay Kara. What can we do?_' I knew the vambraces were out, and the only thing in the house with any healing capabilities were in the medical bay. But thanks to Kelex I knew everything in the medical bay was shut down by the virus. If I could see I might have been able to somehow get at least the red sun lamps working. But that was neither here nor there. At the moment I couldn't see and nothing would change that. Kelex could have probably gotten them working as well but he couldn't move since he was the one literally keeping my mom from bleeding out.

There was nothing else in the house that could heal...No...that wasn't quite true now was it? After all I did get the idea of my vambraces from something else. Said thing just so happened to be in the same room I was in, not even a dozen feet away.

Slowly I felt my way across the room to where I remember it being. Who would have guessed that an almost eidetic memory would come in handy? On my hands and knees I began the arduous journey up the steps.

My mother must have still been conscious and realized what I was about to do, because she made sort of panicked choking sound. "Don't worry mom." I smiled in the direction of the sound and with a calmness I certainly didn't feel I continued "Everything will be okay." and promptly gripped the sword handle in front of me with both hands.

I still wasn't quite sure if the warm liquid running down my face was tears or blood.

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**

.

**Sorry about the delay, Dad got sick and spent a week in the hospital, got better then had to go back to the hospital after coming home for a few days and the symptoms came back. And my college professors decided they wanted to make my life harder by giving us tests every week. **

**So between studying and spending time in the hospital, I had like zero room for Fanfic. Good news however is my Dad is fine now, for the most part at least. He still hasn't fully recovered but he's at home now instead of the hospital. **

**Oh! And I lost my airpods ...in my house…..why the heck don't they have a beeper function again? Thanks apple for your ingenious designs! Like lol my house phone from 2007 has a beeper function so why doesn't my $150 earbuds from 2018 not have one? A cheap speaker in the airpods case was to hard for you apple? Really? The case isn't even that high tech or anything lol its a plastic shell with a battery and lots of space inside, how hard is it to put a speaker in there? Sorry about the rant but I am a little tilted with losing my $150 dollar floss container in my own god damn house!**

**But yeah, I just wanted to put this chapter up. I finished the next chapter which is MUCH longer than this one (14k words), however I have yet to edit it, and I got three test this week so Idk when I will be getting around to working on that. (Probably this weekend assuming life doesn't throw a curveball at me again) Which is why I posted this chapter, I didn't want to leave this story hanging for much longer.**

**PM or Review, it makes me feel great! And I love talking with y'all.**

**.**

**CHAPTER 6**

.

I had expected many things to occur when I grabbed the sword. A feeling of electricity coursing through my veins, unlimited power, even perhaps going super saiyan. The last one was rather far fetched I'll admit but it definitely was more realistic than what had actually happened.

Nothing.

No warmth, no buzzing sensation, no overwhelming power. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Of course it took me nearly over half a minute of tensely crouching before I came to the realization that nothing was going to happen.

Now thoroughly confused, I attempted to readjust my grip thinking that perhaps I had been holding it wrong, only to realize that I couldn't move. Not in the, 'my hands are super glued to the table kind of way'. I mean I literally couldn't move a single muscle, I couldn't even blink. It was as if I had been turned to stone.

It was after that worrying realization that I felt it. The once cool leather of the handle felt like it was warming up. That wasn't the only thing I felt however. A feeling much like someone was ghosting their fingers across my scalp. '_No, that wasn't quite right.'_ I realized after a few moments of concentrating on the weird sensation. It was a few centimeters _under _my scalp. It felt like someone's fingers were gently brushing along the top of my brain, the sensation was somehow simultaneously calming and disturbing.

I knew nothing of this part of the sword, even with access to its schematics the exact nature and process the sword used to select a user was unknown. The information was kept out of the blueprints as a safety precaution to avoid an overzealous El from rigging it to accept them. And with how smart El's were It was intentionally designed to be so integral to the swords foundation that if the process was ever tampered with in any capacity it would instantly destabilize the entire Sword Matrix.

While I knew intellectually that the sword must have been probing my mind, I had assumed that the process would be both undetectable and instantaneous. Instead I had to sit and endure as the '_fingers' _slowly increased in pressure, going from a light ghost of a touch to more of a massage. I winced mentally as the pressure continued to rise, now it was edging towards being painful. Thankfully the pressure started to flatline, leaving me just on the cusp of being painful yet not quite reaching that stage. It was as if a pair of hands was attempting to give my brain a firm massage. A few times I could have sworn I could feel random spikes of emotions that weren't my own, the sword wasn't just going off of a predetermined checklist while searching my mind, it was looking and judging me. And going by how the emotions were starting to get a bit more aggressive with each spike, and how the pain would increase with each wave, I think the blade was finding me wanting.

I would be hesitant to call the sword sapient but it was definitely sentient. I mentally begged it to accept me, if it didn't my mother would die. The emotional tide stopped its ebb and flow for a moment as if in consideration before resuming with a greater intensity, this time with a clear note of disappointment and what could possibly be defined as disgust.

If I could have moved I would have been shrieking from the pain I could feel from both my hands and my head. The sword handle now felt like it was made of molten metal and if I wasn't mistaken the smoke I was smelling was coming from my hands. And instead of fingers gripping my brain, it felt more akin to claws sinking deep into the delicate gray flesh.

I was going to die here, I realized with genuine fear. My mom was going to die because a stupid sword doesnt like me. I would never know the fate of my planet, I wouldn't know if my plan would work in time for the fleet to save everyone. And even if Krypton did survive this, I already knew krypton's fate. I wouldn't even be around to try and fight the planets fate.

Suddenly, the pain fled and I was filled with blessed nothing. With the darkness and the sudden absence of agony I wondered if I had passed on, after all this was rather reminiscent of my first death, agony then nothing but peace and darkness. The slight hum in the back of my head dissuaded me of that notion however, it felt almost curious in nature. I got the distinct sense that it was doing its version of tilting its head to side slightly.

'_Fight?' _It was less of a word and more of a jumble of images and primal feelings, the concept of the word given form.

'_What?' _I was confused, what did it want me to say? '_I don't under-'_

'_Fight?' _The same jumble of images and sensations hit me cutting off my question. Although this time it felt more...insistent? It was trying to ask me something it deemed important somehow, but for the life of me I wasn't understanding what it wanted or what could have prompted it to start this line of questioning, if you could even call it that.

'_Fight?' _It was different this time, this time they came much clearer and lasted much longer than the previous one allowing me to actually comprehend what I was seeing, burning cities, lasers filling the sky so thoroughly it turned night into day, an army of kryptonians that seemed to all share the same face, a hulking humanoid with gray skin wispy white hair and bony protrusions sticking out of its skin and hate burning in its eyes. Many more images flashed by but they were too quick for me glean anything of value besides the fact that they were scenes of destruction.

'_Fight?' _It had a sense of finality to it, and I knew without a doubt this was the last time it was going to ask.

I think I was starting to understand what had got its attention and why it was asking that question. I had been thinking of how I wouldnt be able to stop krypton's doom when it started to question me. The images it had shown me must have been from the memories of the ones who drew the blade before me, afterall my father had said it could only be drawn in defense of the planet. I had been going about it the wrong way, I wanted the blade to save my mother, and only my mother. The sword would never allow itself to be used for such a selfish request, it was made to save the world not grant a little girls wishes.

Now with a better understanding of what it was asking I knew what my answer had to be, for my sake, for my mother's sake, and for Krypton's sake.

'Yes.' I thought with purpose. '_I will fight for Krypton with everything I have.' _

The constant hum in the back of my mind was replaced with tinkling bells and a sense of satisfaction. Then like a flip had been switched my senses returned to me, I would have flinched if I could have moved at the sudden return of my burning palms, my still burning eyes, and the killer headache from the blades earlier inquisition.

The burning in my palms and eyes slowly but surely began to fade and be replaced with an intense itching sensation. Though it was rather uncomfortable it was much more preferable to burning agony. After a while I noticed I was able to see vague outlines, admittedly very, _very_ vague and dark outlines, but it was better than the pure darkness I had been dealing with. The itching in my hands were winding down to practically nothing, while the itching in my eyes seemed to still be ramping up. And with every passing moment I could see just a bit more clearly, now able to see the blurry red blob that must have been the glowing pommel, and even in my current state I was able to tell the glow was much brighter than it usually was.

A sudden burst of warmth from my hands drew my eyes lower, I could see that the skin of my hands were glowing orange. As my vision cleared further I noticed I could see the veins in my hands as if I was holding them over a bright light. The warmth was spreading down my arms and with the warmth came glowing lines, they originated from the sword handle and wound their way slowly down my arms like a snake, they weren't on my skin like tattoos however, they appeared to float a few inches away from my flesh. No, not lines I realized, if I squinted hard enough with my blurry vision I could just barely make out the vague shapes of what looked to be letters, words. The lines finally stopped spreading when they got halfway to my elbows, and the glow from my hands condensed to form what I could only assume was my house crest on the back of both my hands, the lines seemingly originating from the shield.

'_Read.' _Once again I was assaulted with the disjointed images and emotions, though this time it was less aggressive. It was easier to understand this time as well, probably due to being exposed to its unique form of communication for longer. The problem now wasn't understanding it, so much as it was complying with its demand.

'_I can't read this.' _I was already preparing myself for its wraith as I thought the words. The words appeared to be written in the ancient Kryptonian script, but that wasn't the problem as I had learned the language during my time working on the sword. No the problem I was having was that I couldn't see the words clearly enough to read them.

Thankfully the emotions I felt from the sword wasn't anger like I had been expecting. Instead it was more of a muted frustration mixed with some impatience. Instead of pushing emotions and images in my head, I heard voices this time. Every word was spoken by a different person leading to a brief period of confusion as I tried to process the different tones. Once that was done, however, I realized it was giving me essentially an audio file of what was written on my arms. The different voices must have been from a recording of the previous wielders reading the words. Taking a deep breath I repeated the words of my ancestors that were ringing in my mind.

"In Rao's light we prosper.

The Innocent yearn for his gladsome rays.

In the Dark the Wicked rise, and Innocent cower."

With each word I could feel my arms get warmer as the lines constricted tighter, getting closer and closer to by skin.

"But the smallest of lights blaze brightest in the darkest of nights.

Let all who thrive in the Dark be burned by Rao's just light.

For I do not do not stand by in the presence of Evil."

Once the final word passed my lips, I couldn't stop the shriek that bubbled out. The sound of sizzling flesh met my ears and I stared down at my arms in agony, the lines had finally constricted tight enough to dig into my skin, revealing that the fiery glow wasn't just for aesthetics. After a few moments the glow died down to a barely visible shimmer, and with it so did the temperature.

Suddenly whatever force that was keeping me from moving disappeared, leaving me to fall over on my side. I just laid there panting, trying to get my breathing under control from the impromptu and unexpected branding. My hair was practically glued to my face from the amount of sweat I had generated.

Unfortunately I didn't have the time to lay about, and with a groan I dragged myself into a sitting position. With some hesitance and bated breath I grabbed the handle of the sword, feeling no pain or petrification I released the breath I was holding. With a tug I pulled the blade free from the plinth. Even though I knew what the sword was supposed to look like after studying its schematics for months, the unique blade still managed to catch my eye, for one thing it wasn't made of metal, instead it was made of crystal, and just like the pommel it glowed with an inner red light.

I could already feel my skin buzz from the red solar radiation the sword was pumping out. It was a far more intense and concentrated feeling than what I would feel when sunbathing on the balcony. Taking a brief moment to relish in the feeling, I got up and approached my Mom who was still propped against the wall.

My heart stopped when I saw her eyes were closed, and I couldn't see her chest moving. "Kelex! Status report, NOW!"

"Mistress Alura is in critical condition, her lungs have stopped inflating, but her heart still beats. I am currently infusing her blood cells with oxygen to make up for the lungs failure. However she needs immediate medical care."

Okay so she was still alive. That was reassuring. '_Now I just needed to figure out how to heal-' _Before I could even finish the thought, instructions on how to utilize the healing functions flashed behind my eyes. It was rather jarring to suddenly have information you know you didn't have a moment ago.

I didn't dwell on it though, and instead pointed the sword at my mom. Going through the mental commands required to activate it took a few moments as I wasn't quite used to the swords UI. Once I had it, dozens of hair thin tendrils of red light stretched from the blade and made their way to my mother, they stopped half a foot from her. I noticed that the moment I activated the healing function the symbols on my arms glowed just a little brighter and felt a tad warmer.

"Kelex. Move, it needs access to the wound." The droid promptly unlatched itself from around her throat and moved out of the way. Blood immediately started to seep from the wound, I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not considering before it had been coming out in spurts. But regardless the tendrils entered the wound and began healing it from the inside out. Within a minute the work was done and the tendrils exited the wound, once out they made short work of mending the skin shut. When the tendrils retreated back into the blade, the symbols reverted back to their previous inert state.

"Kelex, Status update?" I was confident in the swords capabilities, but confirmation was always appreciated.

"Mistress Aluras' wounds appear to be fully healed and her lungs are functioning again." Kelex was waving his tentacles over Moms form to do a detailed scan.

Now that my mom was in the clear I moved her into the standard recovery position. Granted it was the standard position I had learned in the Before as a human, it was still viable when applied to Kryptonians since we shared enough of the same biological characteristics.

"Kelex, stay here and keep an eye on her."

"Where will you be going Mistress Kara? Wouldn't it be safer for you to stay here as well and wait for the Fleets arrival?"

"Yeah, it would be safer for me to stay here..." I stared at the softly glowing blade in my hands before looking back up "...but I can't just sit here when I have the power to help." I had also made an oath to the blade, and I got the feeling I wouldn't like the consequences If I intentionally shirked it.

"Very well. But please do take care, Mistress Kara. Mistress Alura would be most displeased if you were hurt."

"I will Kelex." And with that I left the vault room. After sealing both the vault door and the hidden door to the stairwell, I made my way through the manor. As I opened the door to the outside and saw dark city of Kandor before me I found myself thinking of Zod's words to me all those years ago. '_It was the duty of the strong to protect the weak.' _

_/_

**So what did y'all think of the sword oath? I tried my best lol but making oaths is hard lol, if you can think of an improvement or a better oath altogether then please PM me and if I like it I will use that instead.**

**Leave a review or PM me if you have any ideas or just want to talk I love reading people's comments/ideas/Questions, or just having conversations with y'all. **

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:**

**.**

**Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter.**

**So in my defence, I wasn't lying when I said I had 14k words written. Unfortunately, I came to the realization that I had written myself into a proverbial corner through the course of those 14k words. So I had to rewrite it. Then I realized once again that I had done it again, but in a different way than the first. So I wrote it again, for the third fucking time. I ended up once more cucking myself. **

**So I just said fuck it and used the first half of the chapter, since it was the second half of the chapter that was having issues. Idk when I will resolve the issues, i've got midterms, and a party coming up so im busy.**

**Okay. Now that apologies are out of the way. It is officially weird question time.**

**Does a kryptonian under a yellow sun still need to pee or poo? And if the answer is yes, does that mean they have to control their bladder/colon so they dont shit tank shells, and don't cut through the porcelain with pressurized piss? Although now I have a rather amusing head canon in my head of seeing "Kal was here." etched into urinals all across the globe. **

**Lol Ik it's a weird question and it's not like i'm going to be focusing on their bowel movements but I think it does help flesh out the world/characters when a super powered character has to do normal things for a change, and seeing how superpowers give those normal things weird twists. (shower needing ridiculous temperatures to feel anything, snapping the lead in mechanical pencils (lol i have enough trouble not doing that without superstrength), brushing teeth and wearing down the bristles really fast, eating and remembering not to bite through the utensil as well, shaving with heat vision, breaking keyboards when typing, trying to play Call of Duty without crushing the controller, etc etc.)**

**HMMM...while were on the topic of weird questions, do Kryptonians have Periods? And if they do, does being under a yellow sun change anything? Or does being under a yellow sun make their periods stop? Assuming they have them to begin with. As much as Kryptonians look human, at the end of the day they're not and never will be human.**

**It's not like i'm gonna be dedicating whole chapters to these topics, but I feel like a brief mention here or their makes the world feel real. Or perhaps i'm just a weirdo. **

**ALSO HOLY CRAP! LEAGUE OF LEGENDS IS MAKING AN ANIMATED TV SHOW! SO FREAKING HYPED! **

.

**CHAPTER 7**

.

It was the sound of someone screaming that drew my attention. I had been wandering the streets, picking my way through both the bodies and the still smoldering wreckages alike, when the blood curdling shriek reached me. I ran down the street hoping to catch sight of whoever it was, the sound came again but this time it was much closer, and if I wasn't mistaken it was coming from the apartment complex from my right.

Dashing through the broken door to the building I made my way up the stairs, my ears straining and hoping for more sound. After all, even a scream of pain meant they could still be saved. The doors to the different apartments I passed had all been broken inward, sometimes I could see the prone form of their residents. It looked like the robots had gone from door to door, I had to swallow bile as I realized the building was at least nineteen stories and considering it was night time when the attack began almost everyone would have been in their homes. The likelihood of any of these apartments having been empty was very low.

I was on the fourth floor when I ran across my first robot, it was in the process of exiting the last of the apartments at the end of the hall, fresh blood dripped from its palms, no doubt coming from the retracted cables. My grip tightened on the swords handle at the sight, my anger drove me to action. The robots sensors must have detected my approach as it turned towards me, unlike the one with my mother this one immediately made to attack me. I wasn't sure if it was because it wasn't currently busy, or because it recognized the blade in my hands as a threat, but either way the sharp cables shot from its palms towards me.

The sword was increasing my abilities both mentally and physically, as I not only was able to track the cables through the air but I was able to easily bat them aside with the flat of the blade. I must have been moving nearly four times my usual speed as I closed the distance between us and cleaved it in half at the waist before it could even begin to retract the cables. The robot however wasn't done yet as even missing its lower half it made to grab my legs from its position on the floor. Before it could even make contact I had plunged the blade downward, pinning its head to the floor and ceasing its functions. I may not have been an expert in swordsmanship, but I had trained with Zod in the basics of a great variety of melee weapons. And at the end of the day, swinging a sword with a vibrating monomolecular edge, was still swinging a sword with a vibrating monomolecular edge regardless of skill.

I couldn't even stop to think about what I had just accomplished as more screams came from the floors above. I dashed into the stairwell once more. This time however I didn't need to search each apartment for the robots. Now that the sword had come in contact with the enemy it was able to analyze the energy signature they emitted. That enabled it to now detect the robots, which it projected directly into the visual center of my brain, giving me a sort of HUD. The robots outlines now glowing red through the many walls and floors that separated us. I could see four glowing spots above me on different floors.

I made short work of the second robot, using the same tactic to take it down as the first. The third proved a slight challenge as it opted for close range melee from the get go. But like the first two it fell with a severed and sparking head.

I made my way to the roof with some confusion, the last robot for some reason skipped the other floors and seemed to be waiting on the roof, unmoving. As I got to the roof the first thing to hit me was the cold biting wind from being so high up. I quickly zeroed in on the robot, it just stared at me unmoving. Feeling uneasy at its aberrant behavior I approached cautiously.

Even when I got within swinging distance it didn't move. I raised my blade slowly, looking for some sort of trap, but still not seeing one. '_Perhaps this one was defective?'_ It was as I had already committed to my swing that I realized my folly.

The moment I had started to swing my sword, my senses went haywire. A sudden flood of information was jammed into my head. With my enhanced perception, I was able to parse the data, just barely. A projectile was headed towards me from behind, and judging from the angle of it, it had come from one of the taller buildings nearby. With myself already committed to the swing, I could do nothing to deal with the bolt of superheated plasma that was hurtling towards my head. It all happened in less than a second, the sword flared with a brilliant red radiance, which formed a glittering shield around me. By the time I had completed my swing, felling the robot in front of me, the shield was already fading away. The shield had been created so fast that it had barely been able to maintain a corporeal state for less than a few milliseconds, thankfully those milliseconds had been all it had needed to disperse the plasma enough that all that had gotten through was a puff of superhot air which ruffled and slightly singed my hair. Considering the alternative was a charred stump where my head would normally go, I would gladly take a bad hair day any day of the week.

Now free, I whipped around and stared at the buildings that the shot came from, the sword doing almost all the work by highlighting the trail of ionized particles in the air, giving me what amounted to line pointing directly to the shooter. With a slight amount of vertigo my eyes zoomed in on the offender, its shape was almost the same as the ones I had seen previously, but this one had merged its arms together to form a long barrel, it's still faintly glowing insides further proved it was what it used to fire at me with. A specialized bot then, one made for tasks such as this, I supposed in hindsight it was foolish to think there would only be one type of robot in an invasion force. Judging by the teamwork and adaptability I had seen with these bots, I suspect the robots were actually connected to a hive network of sorts, meaning what one robot sees they all see, allowing for much greater coordination and planning than if they were all individual units.

The slight build up of light in the barrel was all the warning I received before it fired again. This time without the distraction of another robot, I was able to easily swat it aside, blowing a chunk out of the roof to my right. I narrowed my eyes in thought as I tried to think of ways to deal with the sniper. Afterall it would take me awhile to get back to street level, and then even longer to reach the sniper. Time which it would no doubt use to reposition, starting the game of cat and mouse all over again, wasting even more of my time. And it wasn't like I could just ignore it either, as it would just shoot at easier, more unsuspecting targets.

Once more the sword provided an answer, I blinked in surprise at what it had shown me. Shrugging my shoulders and taking a breath to calm my nerves at what I was about to do, I ran toward the edge of the building and ran off the edge, and kept running. With each step a glowing disk would form where my foot met air, allowing me to run unimpeded by gravity, though it was no less terrifying as the platforms would form just before my feet expected to make contact with the ground in normal circumstances, and faded as I lifted my foot. My brain screamed that I would fall with each step, but the sword did its job and kept me aloft. If I closed my eyes I would have thought I was simply running up a set of stairs, and not running on air high enough to go splat on the road beneath me. It was terrifying, it was exhilarating, but most of all, it was satisfying seeing the robot freeze at the sight of me running on _air_ towards it.

Whatever scenarios it was programmed to deal with, clearly didn't include eight year old girls literally sprinting across a nearly quarter mile gap through the sky towards it. I knew this because I ran half of the quarter mile before it started to fire upon me again. But since the sword was doing all the work in regards to the platforms I was able to focus entirely on deflecting the oncoming barrage while running. The shots were weaker and slower, but they came far more rapidly in what I assumed was the hopes that I would be overwhelmed by the sudden volley.

Now that I was less than a hundred feet away from the still firing robot, I could see the outlines of more than a dozen energy signatures scattered throughout the building. With the amount of momentum I had gathered, I couldn't simply just stop so I dived past the sniper whilst simultaneously taking a swing at it and through the open balcony doors behind it, tucking into a combat roll to help bleed off the momentum.

A glance behind me confirmed my blade had struck true as the robot was on the ground unmoving, and missing the upper half of its head. The glance proved to be a mistake however as the door to the room was blasted inward, and I barely turned back around in time to see the robot charge straight into me, sending us both tumbling over the balconies edge.

With the way I had been knocked from the balcony, it was impossible to properly reorient myself in time to use the same platform trick from earlier. But that didn't mean all was lost, as all I had to do was conjure a bigger platform, which I slammed into back first knocking all the air from my lungs. The impact itself didn't even hurt since I had caught myself before I fell even four floors, at least not with my currently enhance body anyways. But enhanced or not, getting the air knocked out of me still left me a gasping mess.

The robots in the building were less than considerate to my troubles however, if the sound of shattering glass from above me was any indication. It appeared they were less than pleased with the fact that I didn't go splat on the sidewalk. And being the disposable unthinking droids that they were they decided the best course of action was to throw themselves through the poor innocent windows, in some attempt to ensure my demise.

Unfortunately for them, I managed to get a field up in the shape of a steep wedge and was able to sit back in some amusement as they slammed into it and scrambled for purchase on the slick barrier only to slide off to the sides. The distant sound of them slamming into the ground put a grin on my face. It quickly faded into a scowl once I remembered they had survived falling from orbit, meaning a fall from such a paltry height probably wouldn't even scratch their paint.

I walked over to the window in front of me and with a few slashes cut a hole big enough for me to fit through. A quick glance around showed only three robots left, the rest having jumped out the windows after me. Working quickly I hunted them down, I needed to hurry since I could see the ones who had jumped out the windows were currently rushing up the stairwell in a wave of red, and it appeared that more robots from the surrounding area had joined them, swelling their numbers even further. I started to plan out how I would deal with the oncoming group when the sword once more pumped information into my brain.

Even with the healing factor the sword gave me, the constant info dumps were starting to give me a headache, so it took me a few seconds of wincing before I realized what it was. I ran to the stairwell and looked down at the approaching robots, pointing the sword down the middle of the stairs I concentrated on what I wanted. This one took a few seconds longer than I expected since it required a combination of different systems working in concert and it was much grander in scale compared to what I had done previously. The symbols on my arm heated up instantly, it seemed the heat was in direct correlation with the usage, it felt like I had dunked my arms in a tub of hot water.

A wall of shimmering red light shot up and down the stairwell, coating every contour of the space from the very bottom to the very top. Once every nook and cranny was coated I proceeded with the next task, this time though it just took a single thought for a similar red light to coat my own form. With the protections in place the crystal blade in my hand was suddenly wreathed in red flames, and with a single swing I sent a wave of superheated plasma rolling down the enclosed space. Once the inferno finally died down, a flowing river of molten slag was all that remained of the robots. The last part of the plan took nearly a minute to complete as a blue mist spread throughout the stairwell cooling the air to more flesh friendly levels, and freezing the glowing slag. A few seconds later the red shield coating the stairwell and myself winked out of existence, revealing the pristine and undamaged surface underneath. For a few brief moments the temperature in the stairwell had rivaled those found in the heart of Rao.

With all the combatants dealt with and the sword being unable to detect anymore within its range, I decided to go see if I could help any injured. A quick pulse of xray and radar told me that this building was twenty seven stories tall, had a total of two hundred and ten apartments. A total of seven hundred and two kryptonians were detected in the building, and of those only one hundred and six showed signs of life.

I swallowed the bile that wanted to spew forth at those dismal numbers, I didn't have the time or the luxury to throw up. The sword didn't even detect any injured, which I supposed made sense in a morbid sort of way. These people were civilians, so couldn't really put up a fight, meaning the robots could go straight for the kill.

For a moment I wondered why they had stayed, surely it would have been smarter to make a run for it rather than stay indoors while the bots were going door to door? It only took a few seconds of pondering before I realized why these people had stayed. They literally couldn't leave, with everything that could connect to the net being shut down, that meant that the sliding electronic doors Kryptonians used couldn't be opened. These people were literally fish in a barrel, they knew they were going to die but could do nothing but wait for the end. The people in the streets couldn't seek shelter, and the people who were in shelter couldnt flee to the streets. It was a lose-lose scenario.

My hands clenched around the leather grip, knuckles white. With gritted teeth I ran down the stairs. There was no point in staying here any longer, every second I wasted here was another person dead that I could have saved elsewhere. These people should be safe now, especially since all the robots in the area had joined the group on the stairs.

The next hour was much the same, me going from street to street destroying all the robots I could find. Quite a few times I ended up saving survivors that were about to be killed, I never stayed to see their reactions, but I imagined it was a mixture of confusion at being saved by a little girl wielding a sword and relief at still being alive.

Eventually I came across fighting. It appeared the police either managed to get a form of communication up, or followed some sort of protocol. The sheer amount of weapon fire filling the street in front of me was larger than any other skirmish I had seen today. There were at least forty officers kneeling behind a semi circle of overturned vehicles in front of what I assumed was a police station based off of the architecture. Dozens more were scattered throughout the building shooting through windows at the seemingly endless horde.

Robots converged on their position, more robots streaming in from side streets to replace any that fell. They would win through sheer numbers alone it seemed.

Unfortunately for me, the robots in front of me had detected me. And apparently thanks to my hour of hunting robots, they must have classified me as more of a threat than the Police in front of them. I actually felt a shiver of fear when _every single_ robot stopped there march and turned around, completely uncaring of the plasma rain that splashed off their shields. A sea of red eyes were locked on me, I took a single fearful step back, and like wolves scenting blood they surged forward.

With a curse I ran back the other way relying on the sword to help me dodge the slew of cables and plasma bolts that followed me. Sure the sword had more than enough power to turn the lot of them into slag, but without putting up a barrier like in the stairwell I would not only roast myself but also everyone hiding in the buildings around me. And thanks to the sword I knew there were always people trapped in the buildings. Putting up a barrier of such magnitude would take at least a few seconds of intense concentration, and somehow I didn't think the tidal wave of metallic death would give me those seconds.

I needed to take them somewhere without any people, fortunately I knew just the place. Unfortunately however the place I had in mind was nearly a ten minute run. Which by itself wouldn't have been a problem, but the constant dodging I had to do as I ran made the whole thing infinitely more difficult.

After what felt like and eternity I finally made it to my destination and a quick glance around revealed that it was indeed empty of any people. Now able to finally cut loose I spun around with a savage grin on my lips. These things had been shooting at me for ten minutes straight, I was rightly frustrated at that moment.

It only took a thought for a shield to coat myself, and for the blade in my hands to blaze to life. The Park I had been sitting in earlier that afternoon was suddenly being bathed in brilliant red light. Unlike the last time I had used the ability it wasn't an enclosed space, so I had to pump a lot more power into the swing to effect the approaching tide. My vision , from edge to edge was filed with the red roiling plasma, my hearing was nearly defeated by the roar it made. The warmth in my arms flared to scorching levels, nearly causing my to drop the blade, and considering the veritable tidal wave of ionized gas that was gushing from it at that moment, I wasn't sure what would have happened if I had actually dropped the thing, so I bit my tongue and gripped the sword tighter.

When it finally ended I had to blink at the sudden darkness, only a second passed by before my sword given night vision reasserted itself. Though even without it, it was kind of hard to miss the results of my labor. Everything in my line of sight and even things to sides of it wasn't just burned, it was literally molten. A field of molten metals, and stone was all that was before me, where once there was a field full of Krypton's colorful flora. I couldn't even tell what part of the field was made of the melted robots, everything glowed a uniform orange. The edge of the cone had burning fauna clearly outlining the death zone.

To say I was in awe at the destruction was actually wrong, I wasnt in awe, I was fucking _Terrified_. While true I had to put some effort to achieve that level of destruction, I knew I could have put a lot more power into it. And the thought that I could have done orders of magnitude more damage was filling me with dread. I stared down at the softly glowing blade in my now shaking hands. '_What possible reason could my family have to create such a terrifying weapon?' _

As if by divine providence an answer to my question was provided. It started with a muted rumble, more of a faint vibration really, but it quickly intensified into a distant roar not dissimilar to thunder. But it didn't end like thunder would have, no, it got louder and louder to the point that I had to cover my ears. Finally, mercifully it was over.

I glanced around warily for the source of the earth shaking sound. Not seeing anything around me I looked in the only direction I hadn't checked. My jaw dropped, and the sound of the crystal blade clattering on the ground rang distantly in my head. But I paid none of that any mind however. I was far too busy staring, _trying_ and _failing_ to comprehend what I was looking at.

Up above me floating in the sky was _something. _It wasn't a ship, it _couldn't _be a ship. The _thing_ floating above the city of Kandor, was _Bigger _than Kandor. I literally couldn't take in the entire thing without having to turn my head, for all intents and purposes, it _was _the sky. It was so massive in scale that I could only see its belly which appeared to have hanging spires, which on further inspection vaguely made me think of tentacles or some type of segmented stalactite, each one was as big if not bigger than any one structure in the city.

There was a giant glowing hole right in the center of the thing, big enough to fit the entire park comfortably in its radius. I narrowed my eyes as I realized that the icy blue light emanating from its depths looked like it was starting to get brighter in intensity. A klaxon started ringing in my head as the sword warned me that there was a massive energy build up in progress. Though I didn't really need the warning as I could already smell ozone, and my hair was starting to stand on end from the static build up in the air. My eyes widened at the numbers the sword was throwing up, the amount of energy being gathered up there was astronomical.

Without any warning a massive blue beam hurtled towards the ground. I stood frozen in fear as the ungodly amount of energy speared towards me, there was nothing to be done, the scientist in me knew that such a concentrated beam wouldn't be stopped by anything I could throw up in the mere seconds I had to react. It didn't help that the sword was still lying on the ground where I had dropped it in my shock.

Just when the beam reached the height of the tallest building it appeared to hit some sort of shield. Instead of continuing on it path downward, it looked like it was spreading outwards. I stared in confusion as it continued to spread across whatever barrier had stopped it.

But that couldn't have been right. If the city did indeed had a shield that could halt such a discharge of energy, then this invasion would have ended the moment the robots had slammed into it. Something else was happening, and I don't think I would like the results.

Stooping down I quickly retrieved the blade. The leather grip felt reassuring in my hands.

If the thing forming above me wasn't the result of it hitting a shield, then what was happening? I wracked my brain for ideas, each as outlandish or nonsensical as the last. The only thing I could think of was that it was forming a barrier around the city, or at least trying to cordon off a section of the city. But for what possible purpose? Were they trying to keep us in, keep something out, or perhaps it had some other motive I couldn't comprehend?

Whatever it wanted, I knew without a doubt it wasn't in our best interest to let it finish. If it was indeed forming a shield, then I knew that the best chance I had at getting rid of it was when it was being formed. All shields, no matter how powerful were at their most unstable during the formation process. If I had a chance of disrupting it, the window of opportunity was quickly getting smaller.

With that in mind I held the sword close to my body in a two handed grip, my eyes closed in concentration. If I had any hope of stopping the shield I would need to dig deeper than I had this entire night. I already knew what I needed to do, but the problem was if I just went and did it their wouldn't have been much left of Kandor. I needed something that could safely contain the energy I was about to unleash. Slowly a red tube roughly ten feet in diameter began to form a few feet above me, I imagined the tube racing upward in length until it touched the energy barrier forming above me. Then I repeated the process again with a slightly larger tube, and again, and again, each tube just barely larger than the last, each reinforcing the other, and so close in diameter that they might as well have been one incredibly thick tube.

I repeated the process so many times I had nearly lost count, the only reason I knew I was accomplishing anything was by the blazing heat coming from my arms. I was already pushing it with just the shields, and I hadn't even gotten to the main event. I was hesitant to proceed with the next part of the plan, if just maintaining the barriers caused this much pain, then what would happen once I really got going? My need to save everyone warred with my own sense of self preservation. A glance towards the sky however reaffirmed my resolve, the dome, and it clearly was a dome by this point was already sloping down toward the edges of the city, they would probably touch down in less than a minute. Even if I had left at the beginning I doubt I could have made it out, let alone with just the minute I had left.

With all the preparation out of the way the only thing left to do was to do it. No time for doubt, I could only push on and hope I survived the ordeal. With one final breath I thrust the blade skyward. For a moment nothing visibly happened, but I knew different. I could already feel the temperature of the symbols rising. I could taste metal in mouth, and my teeth began to ache. My hair which had already been standing on end straightened even further, looking more like a porcupine had taken residence on my head.

The space at the base of the tube began to ripple, at first it looked like a heat wave, but it quickly got more intense to the point that looking at it gave me a sense of vertigo. The air looked _wrong. _Arcs of electricity began to form inside the rippling air. Then with what sounded like a thunderclap, the distorted space seemed to fold in on itself like origami. The folded space flattened out into a disk perfectly the diameter of the tube it was in. It was unnatural, not in the sense that it didn't exist naturally in the cosmos, but in the sense that something like this shouldn't exist this close to a gravity well.

This was made evident in the slight wavering of its edges. It wanted to unravel, the gravity of the planet picking apart its very nature. But the sword in my hands was designed specifically for this task.

The thing floating in the air a few feet above me was a wormhole.

My ancestors had not christened the sword with such a pretentious title as "Sword of Rao" because it sounded cool.

All wormholes had an entrance and an exit. That was a fact, no matter if it was a natural one, or an artificial one. It was a scientific impossibility for one to exist without one. But a quirk about wormholes that not many knew about was the fact that when one formed, it took a few seconds for the other end to form, and only for that brief moment did a wormholes not have an end.

And so it was, that for a brief moment, the world was still and peaceful. Then the other end of the wormhole formed, and that peace and quiet was shattered as a pillar of light and fire suddenly erupted within the tube. It did not spew out of the wormhole so much as it suddenly just _existed_ in front of the wormhole. That was the speed at which it came out of the wormhole, one second the tube was empty the next it was filled to the brim and straining against the tube containing it. But the tube did its job, and all that energy was funneled out the end to slam into the barrier forming in the sky.

The city of Kandor was bathed in its familiar brilliance.

The wormholes final destination was the heart of Rao.

The amount of power being unleashed breathtaking, and to a kryptonian the intensity of the light was empowering, soothing all aches and pains, and filling all it touched with boundless energy.

But I didn't register any of that. I was far too busy trying not to black out from the pain, while simultaneously maintaining the tube. I was literally holding back the power of a sun, granted it was a small, almost infinitesimal sliver of it, but even that was almost enough to completely shatter the shackles I had placed on it. Something like this was never meant to be controlled, it was power incarnate. Beings all across the universe, all universes, looked up to the sky in wonder of these balls of power. And here I was having the audacity to try and put a leash on one.

After only a few seconds of doing it I was about ready to call it quits. The only reason why I hadn't was the fact that I could see it was working. The dome had stopped its progress across the sky. I focused more intently on maintaining the tubes integrity, it served to block the pain. I was so deep in concentration I was hardly conscious of the outside world. I didn't know how long I had stood there with the blade above my head, but a glance around me showed that the lightshow had gathered attention, both good and bad.

All around me people were fighting, they stood in a defensive circle around me firing outward at the horde of metal. It seemed that all the police had used my attack as a beacon of sorts to gather around. Unfortunately it worked both ways, the robots could also see where I was, and considering the fact that I was messing with whatever plan they had in mind, they probably wanted to stop me.

But I pushed it all out of my mind. There was nothing to be done except make sure I kept the pillar going for as long as possible. More time passed in that fugue like state. The next time I came out of it, it was due to a searing pain in my leg. My mind had been so focused on blocking out the pain in my arms that the new source of pain caught me off guard. It was quickly followed by another, this time in my lower back.

It was too much, I couldn't keep going any longer, before I fell I managed to close the wormhole. So when I hit the ground, and dropped the sword, at least the city didn't get scorched. I layed on my back and watched with swimming vision as robots approached my prone form. Their arms outstretched, ready to deliver the killing blow. And in my state I doubt I could have lifted a finger let alone dodge.

Everyone had their limits, it seemed I had finally reached mine. The pain and exhaustion, both mental and physical was too much.

The robots were standing right above me, their forms outlined by the glowing background of the barrier. I didn't hear anymore laser fire, so I assumed everyone else was dead. Just like I was about to be.

With the red light no longer there to blind me, and my head feeling like it was full of cotton. The pulsing blue of the sky was absolutely mesmerizing. In my last moments, that what I was focusing on. Not the fact that I was about to die, not the fact that I had failed. No, I was thinking about what a beautiful shade of blue the barrier was. It was for that reason and that reason alone that I saw the exact moment it happened.

The blue flickered for a second then blinked out of existence. For a brief fleeting moment I was sad. The beautiful entrancing light was gone, leaving me with just the disgusting red of the robots eyes. Though I supposed the light on their chests was nice too.

Then to my joy the blue light filled the sky once more. It took me a few moments for me to realize that there was something different about this light. It wasn't an endless expanse that filled the sky, it was more like spots of blue, like stars all across the black sky. Then to my surprise the sky _moved_, it felt like it was getting farther away from me. The blue lights getting dimmer as the distance increased.

The sheer impossibility of the sky moving shook me out of my confused state. I watched as the enormous ship rose higher and higher, its thrusters blazing a fierce blue as they pushed the behemoth upwards. In the back of my mind I noted distantly that the robots also froze to look up at the retreating ship. Whatever was happening was clearly not apart of their plan. It was when the ship that was literally bigger than Kandor jumped like a startled puppy and visibly rocked to the side, that I realized what was happening.

My vision was already fading and I was in the worst pain of my life, but I managed to grin anyways as I surrendered to darkness. And why shouldn't I be grinning?

The Kryptonian Defence Fleet had finally arrived.

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**Leave a review or PM me if you have any ideas or just want to talk I love reading people's comments/ideas/Questions, or just having conversations with y'all.**

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** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

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Consciousness came slowly. Oddly enough the first thing that grabbed my attention was the air. It smelled like nothing, unnaturally clean.

My eyes shot open. The first thing I saw was my reflection looking back at me, it took me a few moments of confused staring before I realized I was laying in a pod of some kind. Panic quickly gripped me as my last memories came back to me. _Was I a prisoner aboard the robots ship? Had they kidnapped me? _

I lunged up to press against the cool glass. Instantly a hissing sound surrounded me, and my efforts doubled. _They were gassing me._ That was the only explanation I could come up with as I started to get dizzy. Then to my surprise, the glass I had been beating on suddenly gave way and slid up and away.

Not wanting to risk it closing again I rolled out of the pod, uncaring of the painful drop that awaited me. I shot back to my feet and took in my surroundings. I was in some sort of medical room, various pieces of equipment were pressed up against the walls. All of them were too big for me to use as a weapon, and if they were smart the devices would have been maglocked to the ground anyways.

A quick inspection of my person revealed I was dressed in what appeared to be a pure white skin suit, the material almost appeared to glow in the white light of the room. It was unlike any skin suit I had ever worn before as the material was so thin I could see my skin through it, almost as if I was wearing a full body stocking. While my state of dress was certainly odd, it was the state of my body that I was actually concerned with. My arms which I had been certain would at least have been covered in burns were unblemished, even the symbols were gone, except for a pair of glowing red El crests on the back of each hand.

Barely enough time had gone by for me to glance around before the door to the room hissed open. I got into a defensive stance, it wouldn't mean much unarmed but it was leagues better than just accepting my fate.

What walked through the door wasn't the robot I feared. Instead a black haired young woman entered the room, her gaze focused on the data pad in her arms. When she glanced up and noticed me she froze, her eyes going wide in surprise. "Oh! Your awake!?" Her brows furrowed. "How are you awake? The pod should have kept you sedated for at least another few days."

My shoulder slumped at hearing her speak Kryptonian. "Where are we?" I put aside the whole sedation thing, I needed to know what was going on.

"We're in Kandors main hospital." She made to move towards me. "I think you should get back in the pod, your not fully healed yet-."

"Are we still under attack? Did we win?" I interrupted her, I needed to know.

"The fighting is over. The defence fleet managed to push the invaders out of the system."

"Push? You mean they got away?" My eyes widened at the thought. "How is that possible?"

She just shrugged "I'm not sure, they say their investigating the reason, but the rumor is that the main ship managed to jump from orbit."

My mind raced with what that meant. If it were true then that meant Krypton's main defence had been rendered useless somehow, either it had been taken down, or the method of the jump was able to punch through the interference.

"Do you know what happened to my parents?" My mom should have been safe in the vault, but I didn't know anything about my Dad's situation, besides the fact that he had been on Argo. _Speaking of. _"Was Argo attacked as well?"

She shook her head, "Your parents to my knowledge are fine, though your mom was brought in with severe blood loss and is recovering at the moment. And regarding Argo, It was less of an attack and more like a siege. They just shot down any ships that tried to leave, nothing actually landed on Argo." She walked over to me, "Now if your curiosity is sated I do have to ask that you go back in the pod, you need to rest after what your body has been through."

As I layed back into the pod, I realized the pod was a sun chamber. It was designed to blast a patient with intense but precise bursts of red sun radiation, while simultaneously taking control of the nanites in our bodies to further facilitate the healing process. The AI monitored the patient and determined the duration and concentration of the bursts. It also explained what I was wearing, it must have been so thin so to ensure maximum effectiveness in the healing pod.

/

The next time I awoke I was much calmer now that I knew my situation. When I sat up, I immediately noticed there were people in the room, heavily armed people to be more specific. Instantly I went from relaxed to tense as I took in their armored forms. Matte black and gold with helmets obscuring their faces, the crest on their breasts are what caught my attention the most. It was the crest of Krypton's ruling council.

"By order of the Council you are to come with us." The closest one to me spoke, their voice made indrogenous by the suits speakers. I stared at them dumbly for a few seconds, apparently it was a few seconds too long as the one that had spoken grabbed my arm and roughly dragged me off the bed. Keeping a firm grip on my arm they pushed me to the door. My bare feet barely registering the cold floor with all the thoughts running through my head.

"Why does the Council want me?" I could think of many reasons, most of them were bad for me.

No one answered as we took an elevator to the top floor, where a sleek VTOL waited. I was unceremoniously shoved into a chair which locked me in place with a null field. I literally couldn't even blink. The ride was short, but my eyes burned something fierce as I had to hold them open for what must have been five minutes straight.

Once more I found myself being manhandled into an elevator and led down a hall to what I assumed was where the council convened, at least judging by the sheer amount of ornate engravings on the walls and door.

The room looked like what I remembered a courtroom looked like. At the end of the room was a raised dais on which seven gaudy throne like chairs sat, currently the room was empty except for me and my escort. I was placed onto a slightly raised circle which lit up with a green glow the moment my feet made contact. I immediately felt the effects as everything below my waist was immobilized by what was probably a localised null field. Null fields were great for prisoners as it literally cancelled out all inertia in the fields boundaries. No doubt with a press of a button they could make the field cover the rest of me, but for the moment they just made it impossible for me to move from my spot.

Once I was secure a door behind the dias hissed open and the council members streamed in. They all looked elderly with their gray hair and wrinkled faces. It was actually rather jarring to see them since everyone on krypton could enjoy a youthful appearance, that meant these men and women _chose_ to look old. I could only assume it was to appear more wise and knowledgeable, as it was instinct for living beings to aquate age with wisdom.

"You have been brought before us today for a reason. Tell me Lady El, do you know what that reason is?" The one in the center chair spoke first. His tone giving away nothing.

I swallowed and answered "No esteemed councilor, I do not." I could only pray it wasnt something actually incriminating, but considering how I had been treated thus far I wasn't too hopeful.

"Are you sure you can't think of any reason as to why we called you here?" A councilor pressed.

"No. I can't." I was freaking out inside, trying to think of anything they could have called me for.

"Tell me then. Do you recognize this?" Slightly above our heads a hologram formed.

My eyes narrowed, and my brows furrowed. It was an easily recognizable image, something any kryptonian would be able to recognize. It was a 3d rendering of a kryptonian cell. "Well yes I do recognize that, but I don't under-"

"Look closer." He stated flatly.

I bit my tongue at the interruption and did as I was bid. "It looks…..damaged? The cell wall almost looks... degraded or worn away? And the organelles look a little shriveled almost like it was exposed to an acid, but ive never seen anything like it before." My tone becoming more clinical as I examined the image. My brain seeing something it didn't understand, and it was now working overtime trying to figure it out. "The solar receptors responsible for processing and distributing solar radiation looks ...burnt?" I squinted at the darkened receptors.

"An apt analysis considering you don't have any supporting data to compare to." The counselor on the far right spoke this time. "This sample was taken an hour after the defence fleet pushed the invaders out."

_An hour? But that would mean ..._"Was a chemical weapon deployed?" My eyes widened in horror at the thought.

"Oh no. There were no reports of any chemical weapons." The counselor reassured me before continuing. "No, this sample was taken from you."

I froze as I processed those words. "Me?" Of all the things I thought they were going to say, that was not one of them.

"Indeed. You see this kind of damage is rarely seen in a Kryptonian. It's so rare in fact that there is only one possible culprit for the damage." This time a hint of an emotion flickered in their faces, something I could only assume was a smile with how fast it had disappeared. "You Kara Zor-El are being accused of developing and using yellow solar radiation technology. Do you deny it?"

My mouth went dry. They had literal proof of it sitting right in front of me. "Yes, I do deny it."

The room went quiet at my claim. "You deny it? Then can you explain the cellular damage?" He sounded amused.

"Yes, I can." I had planned for such an eventuality and had come up with viable excuses in case I was ever brought in for questionable actions. "A few weeks ago I had been working on a bracer that emitted concentrated red sun radiation. I know that there are already plenty of designs out there for similar devices, but I wanted to try designing one myself. It was a project I had started on a whim so I never finished it. When my mother was attacked I put them on in the hopes that it would at least increase my chances of saving her. But I must have done something wrong when designing the emitters as it was yellow light instead of red."

The councilors stared at me through narrowed eyes, their disbelief was a palpable thing. "Your trying to get us to believe that it was an accident? That you, an El, made such a grievous miscalculation?" I nodded.

"No ones perfect." I shrugged. Trying to maintain an air of innocence. "For all my claim of being a prodigy, I am still rather young."

The councilors started to debate amongst themselves, but they must have erected some sort of barrier as I couldn't hear any words. I watched as they gesticulated, their mouths moving silently, some of them looked calm, others were more frantic and aggressive with their movements.

Eventually sound returned to the world. "This council has agreed to drop the charges regarding unlawful experimentation." The sudden return of sound made me jump, but once I processed his words, my tense shoulders sagged in relief. "However, their are other allegations that need to be addressed."

My whole body tensed at those words _Other allegations? What else could they have? _I tried to think of what else I had done to warrant a council meeting, but I was coming up blank.

"With your reckless actions, you have endangered the life of one of Krypton's greatest minds." The counselor paused. "Because of your ineptitude, one of our greatest minds may not survive the night."

"What are you talking about I didn't hurt anyone!" I shouted, I had done many things that would raise eyebrows, but I had never hurt anyone.

They all looked at me in silence, some had what I would hesitantly call pity. "You really don't know do you?" One of them said quietly. The one in the center just sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Regardless, ignorance, no matter how genuine cannot excuse what has been done."

"What are you talking about? Who did I hurt?" Dread creeping up my spine. Clearly they knew something I didn't.

"Alura Zor-El is currently in a coma. She was left in that state due to Yellow sun poisoning. It was your actions that led her to that state." And just like that, it felt like the world had disappeared from under me.

I stared, his words resounding in my head on loop. My Mom...in a coma...yellow sun… I felt dizzy. Nausea rising up in me.

"It's clear to us that the damage was unintentional on your end. Due to that, we have decided that you are to be sentenced to the phantom zone for only five cycles."

My head snapped up, my eyes wide. "What!? No! You can't!" They couldn't do that! If I went there I couldn't save _anyone_. Everyone would die...and if everyone was dead then who would let me out? I was hyperventilating now, barely able to form complete thoughts with how my mind raced.

"It has already been decided. The Law, is the Law. Five cycles is the shortest sentence one can get to the phantom zone."

With those words a big machine descended slowly from a recess in the ceiling. It floated under its own power, with a hiss the machine split into four equal parts, slowly drifting apart until it formed the corners of a rectangle. With a hum the machine began to warm up, the sound getting louder in pitch until it was no longer audible. Electricity sparked in its center, contained by the multitude of invisible fields. Slowly a tear in space began to form, widening until it encompased the entirety of the rectangles invisible boundaries.

It granted me a view of...something...I couldn't even describe what I was looking at. My mind unable to even process it. A different universe with different laws, laws that had no place in this one. This was the phantom zone. Where up was down, in was out, where time stopped and sped up at a whim, in some places going backwards. A hellscape, a place where criminals were said to go mad. A place even death had forsaken. But most importantly it was the place where I was going.

"Please! Don't send me in there! You don't understand! If you send me in their everyone is-" Suddenly I couldn't move, my plea cut off as what I could only assume was the null field rose to fully encompass me. Tears gathered in my eyes I began to lift off the platform, until I was floating level with the portal. My chance to save myself was gone now. Frustrated and fearful tears filled my eyes.

"Kara Zor-El. This council finds you guilty of Criminal Negligence. You are hereby sentenced to the Phantom Zone for five cycles. May you find atonement in the void."

Slowly, I started to drift towards the portal. Tears would have rolled down my cheeks, but the field holding me caused them to just pool in my eyes, almost completely obscuring my fate. I wasn't sure if that was worse or not.

Just as I started to pass through the fields a loud bang resounded through the chamber.

"STOP! DIRECT OVERRIDE 798-209!"

And just like that I stopped, my fingers tingling with how close they were to entering the portal. Slowly but surely I began to float back to the disk. If I hadn't been held up by the null fields I was sure my shaking legs would have given out.

"What is going on here!" A voice boomed behind me. A very familiar voice.

"General Zod!?" One counselor stammered. "What is the meaning of this!"

"Kara Zor-El will NOT be sentenced to the phantom zone!" HIs voice was firm.

"On whose authority?!" She sounded incredulous.

"Mine." That single word had the entire council staring with gobsmacked expressions.

"You overstep your bounds General. Guards! Arrest this man!"

I could hear the distinct sounds of weapons being charged.

"Arrest me?" He chuckled. "Perhaps I should rephrase, when I said my authority, I meant the entirety of Kryptons Military. All of them stand with me on this matter."

"You speak of treason Zod!" Her voice was shrill now.

"Perhaps." I could almost hear the shrug in his voice. "But the fact is. No soldier of Krypton will stand idle if you touch her. She saved Kandor. We who were born to protect this world and all its citizens will never forget the debt we owe her."

"Saved Kandor? Grant you, she did fight in its defense, but it was the military who sa-"

"Wrong." His tone brooked no argument. "If it wasn't for her Brainiac would have completed his plan. Her actions are the only reason we managed to stop him before he bottled the city. Kandor, a city with millions of lives, a city which may I remind you, you live in. Would have been in his clutches when he jumped out."

"Now. If you will excuse us, Kara still needs more time in a healing pod." He must have done something for suddenly I found myself falling. Luckily he must have foreseen it because he caught me before I fell. I clutched at him muttering my thanks endlessly as he carried me out of the chamber.

It was all a blur as we traveled back to the hospital. As he placed me into the pod, I came to my senses. My hand clamped around his as he tried to pull away. "My Mom, is she really….?" I faltered, unable to finish.

He looked at me, taking a moment to take in my lost expression. "Yes." He sighed.

I tried to sit up. "Then I have to go be with her. This is my fault, I need to-"

"No." He pushed me back into padded pod. "You need to finish healing. You did serious damage to your cells Kara. The only reason you aren't in a coma as well is because your cells are younger and were more resilient. But if you dont heal now, it could be permanent."

"But-"

"No." He spoke more firmly.

"But I-"

"You need to heal and thats final. Either lay back and let the pod do its job or I will knock you out and let it do its job. Either way you're not going anywhere until you heal."

Seeing no other option I nodded and laid back, letting the clear lid shut over me. I maintained eye contact with Zod for as long as I could while the gas dragged me under.

/

I stared at my Mom. She looked like she was sleeping, as if any moment she would open her eyes and smile at me. But the medical chart at the foot of her bed said otherwise.

I did this. I was the reason she wouldn't wake up.

I stroked the glass over her face. "Mom. Please, if you can hear me. Wake up. Please? I didn't mean to do this. I'm sorry, just … please wake up."

She didn't respond. Which didn't surprise me. All the gathered data showed no brain activity besides the bare minimum needed to be classified as alive. Every cell in her body had been severely damaged. She was only alive now thanks to the frantic work of her nanites. Due to the nature of the damage the healing pod couldn't even use red sun radiation, having to rely solely on boosting the effectiveness of her nanites.

As good as the nanites were even they had their limits. Apparently repairing burnt out solar receptors is where the line was.

The only reason I was still relatively okay after my much longer exposure to the yellow light was because my cells were much younger and as such were more malleable, but even then the damage was extensive. Without any of the painkillers running through my system I could feel a slight burn permeating the entirety of my body. They had offered me medications but I had declined.

I wanted to feel the burn, it was the least of what I deserved after what I had done. In my folly I had created the vambraces, disregarding the fact that it was common knowledge that solar radiation not of a similar wavelength to that of Rao was highly toxic to a kryptonians physiology. I had dismissed it as some form of propaganda to further enforce the laws banning interstellar travel. Either made up by the council, or perhaps a holdover from our more religious times. We worshiped the sun as a god, it wouldn't be too far fetched to believe the light of another sun would be seen as something heretical or blasphemous.

Besides my memories of seeing Superman soaring through the air only served to reassure me of the fact. I had relied on the knowledge of my past life, and my mom paid the price.

"Kara." A hand rested on my shoulder.

"This is my fault." My vision blurred slightly. I blinked it away.

"No. Kara this isn't. You are not responsible for this." My dad tried to sound firm, but I could hear the lie as plain as day. Somewhere inside he blamed me, even if he didn't want to admit it to himself.

My hands clenching almost hard enough to draw blood. It would have taken less than a half hours work to confirm it. Yet I hadn't.

"And how do you figure that?" I whirled around, my vision once more growing fuzzy. My tone scathingly bitter. "It was MY creation that put her here!" I began to slap my hand on the glass behind me, just barley stopping my hand to rest gently against the cool surface. "Im the reason she might not wake up." My anger leaving me mid sentence, by the end, my voice was little more than a whisper. This time I didn't blink the fuzziness away, letting them track down my cheeks. I couldn't bear to look at him after what I had done, turning my face downward in shame.

"No." He gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "It is because of your creation that she is alive. Tell me. What would have happened if you hadn't had those vambraces?" I didn't respond, just staring at him in confusion at what he was trying to get at. "If you didn't have them, she would be dead. I saw the footage from Kelex, that robot had her in its grip. She was as good as dead without your intervention." He squeezed my shoulders. "Kara. Your actions are the only reason she _might _wake up. Without you she wouldn't even have the _chance_ to see another day. You understand me Kara?" He shook me slightly "Say you understand!"

Taking a moment to take in his red puffy eyes and stonelike expression. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I understand."

Twisting out of his grip, I went back to looking down into the pod. I may have understood, but I would _never_ forget. It was my reliance on my past lives knowledge that led to this. Never again would I make that mistake. From now on, I would only use it as a measuring stick, not as a guide to be trusted blindly. This wasn't a comic book or a show. This was my life, and life was a game that played for keeps.

/

The sword was where I left it. Sitting innocently in the scorched dirt. The security drone currently hovering over it wasn't there to protect the sword, it was there to protect people from the sword. The security protocols on it was no joke, and it didn't discriminate. If I didn't personally allow the person to touch it or move it for that matter, it would regard it as a threat and proceed accordingly.

Slowly, I leaned down to pick it up. My hand pausing just an inch away, I took a moment to brace myself for what I instinctively knew was coming.

The moment my hand made contact the El crests on my hands flared, and the symbols scrolled out of them. I grit my teeth as the searing script settled themselves once more on my arms.

"It hurts?" Dad asked from beside me, his voice a mixture of concern, clinical curiosity, and awe. I couldn't fault him for the last two. After all this was probably the only time he will ever get the chance to see someone wield the sword. He was a scientist, and there was alot about the sword that wasn't written down.

"Yeah." I sighed, flexing my arms as I waited for the pain to fade. "Some sort of security measure."

"The pain?" He sounded puzzled.

"Its to ensure that whoever wields it never forgets what they hold. To make sure they never get lulled by its power. Its potential." I gazed into the red crystal, studying the way it reflected the light of rao, while simultaneously emitting its own light. "When you use it, you feel like you could do anything. Like anything you want could be yours if you wished it. It's a heady feeling to wield so much raw power. It's so tempting to just ..." I trailed off, unsure where I was even going. I sighed. "Anyways, let's hurry back so I can return this. The excess radiation is starting to sting a bit."

"Right." With a hand on my back he gently nudged me toward the air speeder we had arrived in.

My solar receptors, while not nearly as damaged as Mom's. They were still badly damaged. They told me it would take awhile to heal, most of the healing would occur during puberty when my body started maturing, and that until they did I should try to limit my solar intake. The burn would become more intense the more the damaged receptors had to process. And right now the combined light of the sun and the sword was proving their diagnosis correct.

I stopped walking for a moment, a thought coming to me. "Hey Dad?"

"Yes Kara? What is it?"

"Do you want to hold it?"

He looked confused, but he followed my gaze to the sword. "But the security-"

"It listens to me. If I tell it to let you, it will." Seeing his hesitation still, I decided to go in for the kill. "Besides the docs told me to watch my solar intake. The sword isn't good for me to hold." I grinned as I saw his parental instincts beat back whatever was causing him to hesitate, slowly he reached his hand out. It took a few moments of concentration, but I got him to be identified as a friend.

He held the blade with a childlike wonder. Holding the handle gently enough that I feared he might drop it.

I laughed amused at his reaction. "Dad. Grip it tighter. You may not be able to access any of its functions but if you drop it, you'll still lose a foot."

His grip immediately tightened at the realization. He looked up at me and I did a double take at the shit eating grin he wore. "Jor is going to be so jealous."

I snorted as we got in the airspeeder.

/

I felt immediate relief as I inserted the blade into the slot. The symbols floated off my skin and back into the handle. As I stepped away I absentmindedly rubbed my unblemished arms.

I whispered goodbye to the blade and thanked it for its help as I left. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but the pommel seemed to glow a little brighter at my words.

When I finally made it back to the surface, I sealed the newly repaired wall. The ancestral home was completely fixed thanks to all the drones we had. I was completely alone as Dad had to go after dropping me off, with all the chaos from the invasion, he had a lot of work to do. I hadn't even seen Jor and Lara since waking up, seeing as how Jor was literally head of the science council I could scarcely imagine how swamped they must be.

I picked up the circlet on my bed, idly toying with the band of metal. Kelex or Penny must have printed another circlet as I distinctly remembered not taking it off when I left. Speaking of….

"Penny?"

No response. I glanced around in confusion. Penny was linked into the houses security systems, she should have heard that no matter where she was.

As I thought about it, my eyes found themselves staring at a particular spot on the floor. Slowly I put the circlet on, willing the box I had stashed there rise out of the ground. Just as I had thought, the box rattled and shook.

The moment I unsealed it, a silver blur shot out and smacked me in the face. It's malleable form completely covered my face, blocking my sight. But even with the silvery material pressed to my face I could still breath through it.

"Kara! I am glad to see you are well!" She sounded more distraught than I had ever heard her, and the way she clung to my face despite my efforts to peel her off showed it even more.

"Hey Penny. Glad to see your fine to." I mumbled into the liquid geo, giving up on trying to remove her and settling for petting her consolingly. Eventually she floated off me, reforming into her default ball form.

"Why didn't you just take control of the room? Or alert Kelex of your situation?"

"I would have. But that box was meant to keep its contents hidden. It blocked all my attempts. I couldn't even access the net until now."

I winced at the image. From her perspective all she knew was that she had been taken offline in a cyber attack, then woke up in a box in isolation for a week. "If no signals reached you, how did you power back up?" The signal that was sent out to turn everything back on shouldn't have penetrated the box.

"The virus only knocked out my ability to interact with the outside world. My processors were still operational. I managed to reassert control of my functions after forty-six hours." Her form rippled and spiked. "...I see I missed a lot."

_Ah_. She must have accessed the net, a lot of things happened in the time since she went inert.

"Yeah. You did. But now that your up, you ready to get to work?"

"Of course."

"Good. I want you to bring me every scrap of data you can find relating to a particular word. Use my access codes to get into secure archives if you have to. I want _everything_, no matter how benign or irrelevant." As I spoke I was already bringing up holographic displays.

"What word Mistress?"

"Brainiac."

/

**AN: Hello! Been awhile huh? I kind of got obsessed with my League of Legends story. (Wrote nearly 50k words in less than a month.) **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Leave a review or pm if you have any comments, questions, ideas, etc etc. **

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

/

I could taste bile in the back of my throat as I stared at the screens in front of me.

Nine million.

That was the number of people who had lost their lives during Brainiacs invasion. According to the reports only five hundred thousand of those deaths had been due to deliberate actions from brainiacs forces. The remaining eight and a half million fatalities had been caused by the virus, every single airborne vehicle had fallen from the sky simultaneously, killing both the passengers and the bystanders unfortunate enough to be underneath the falling vehicles.

I forced myself to look away from those reports, swiping my hand through them to minimize them for good measure. Turning away from the news articles I instead focused on the military documents Penny had procured.

Brainiac was first seen in the galaxy nearly 700 years ago. According to the data wherever he appeared the destruction of the planet was always an assured thing. Usually happening within moments of his departure.

He was suspected to be complicit in the complete destruction of over a hundred worlds, and was confirmed to be responsible for sixteen. In their death throws some planets had opted with broadcasting all of their relevant data pertaining to Brainiacs attack as far as they could. Probably in the grimm hope that someone out there would use it put a stop the menace. Those files that came from them were marked as questionable intelligence by Krypton's science council, after all if it wasn't compiled by a Kryptonian or recorded with Kryptonian technology it was _obviously _subpar and full of inaccuracies.

On three of his incursions, Kryptonian probes had been close enough to personally witness and record the events take place. I feel it should be noted that although the data provided by these probes was almost exactly the same as the ones provided by the dead planets, it was marked as a credible source.

First he would send drones in to eliminate or at least suppress resistance, then his main ship would approach. All the while two distinct energy signatures would build up inside the ship. The reason for one of those signatures would be quickly apparent as the ship would encapsulate the capital of the planet and shrink it, allowing it to be brought aboard the ship. The second energy signature on the other hand would keep building up all the way up until Brainiac's ship is at the edge of the solar system, then it would release all the built up energy simultaneously in the form of a beam.

The beam would hit the planet exactly at its center, and bore a hole all the way to its core. There the beam would heat the already molten core to such a high temperature and in such a short time frame that it would flash vaporize. From there it was simple physics what would happen next. The planet explodes from the sudden pressure increase.

That last bit was particularly important to me.

According to all the sensor data, only one energy frequency was detected. The planet destroying one was nowhere to be found. Such a tremendous build up of energy was impossible to hide, especially with how close our ships got before he Jumped.

All previously recorded encounters showed him charging up the planet killer before he even entered the solar system. Yet here, he had opted to only charge his City stealing tech.

The only reason I could see was that he didn't plan on destroying Krypton. This was good news in my eyes as it meant I still had a chance to save it. Unfortunately the only reason I could see for Brainiac sparing us, was that our destruction was already all but upon us.

_How bad was our situation that Brainiac, a person responsible for the deaths of countless billions of lives, decided we weren't worth the effort of killing? _The thought didn't fail to send a shiver down my spine.

Licking my suddenly dry lips, I spoke. "Penny whats the ETA on that lab request?"

"The lab you asked for should be up to your specifications, and ready for use by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I looked at my AI in confusion. "Isn't that a little fast? Especially with all the stuff that's happened? I mean I wasn't expecting it to be ready for another week at best."

"Normally a lab, especially one as specific as the one you asked for would take at least a week to prepare. But it appears that the ruling council has seen fit to change your request to a priority one request."

My eyes widened at the news. I should have been happy that I would be getting my Lab so much sooner. Yet I couldn't bring myself to feel anything except suspicion. The ruling council had been literal inches away from tossing me in the phantom zone on what I now realize were trumped up charges. First they wanted me in the phantom zone, and when that didn't work they're seemingly trying to butter me up?

_Why?_

Why did they even feel the need to get rid of me in the first place? I haven't done anything to personally wrong them before. Yet the fact remained that they had wanted me gone, and now they were offering an olive branch. The only time you try to make peace with something you can't destroy is if they're a threat. If anything they should have been thanking me for saving their ungrateful asses.

_So why did they think I was a threat to them? _

No matter what angle I looked at it, I couldn't come up with a plausible enough reason. After fruitlessly turning it over in my head, I shrugged. I would think on it another time. For now, I would take that olive branch they were offering.

Regardless of the reason behind their actions, I would be able to get started on my research sooner.

With the clock ticking against me, every second mattered.

/

My new lab was situated on Argo on the outskirts of the city. So close to the edge that within minutes I could walk to the shimmering barrier protecting the city. From a distance the dome imitated the sky of Krypton flawlessly, with simulated clouds and weather patterns. But up close the effect was ruined by the constant ripple of energy. Thankfully the barrier ran on its own auxiliary power, and was all analog. Otherwise the city of Argo would have been sucked into space when the virus hit.

It was a rather large building all things considered, but it needed to be with all the projects I would be working on in the coming years. Multiple floors, and even extended downward with subterranean levels. As I walked in I picked up the circlet at the entrance.

The entire hall rippled as the circlet synced with my brain. It was one of the design specifications I had made. Every square inch of the walls, floor, and ceilings of this building was coated in a few inches of liquid geo. After years of having it in my bedroom, it had almost become second nature to have it at my beck and call. Considering that this lab was essentially going to be my home for the next few years I thought the extra cost to be well worth it.

I had tried doing research throughout the years, but never really managed to get anything worthwhile from it. Without a Thinkers license I lacked the resources and privacy I needed to get anything accomplished.

Now though I had access to literally any file in the kryptonian databanks. Regardless of classification or security concerns. Thinkers were expected to use _all _the knowledge at their disposal. Weapons, medicine, infrastructure, anything and everything was available for my perusal at the press of a button.

I needed to first figure out what is going to cause Krypton's destruction. I needed to know the how, before I could come up with any solutions.

"Penny, please compile all the data from the planetary surveys."

"What time range did you wish to look at?"

I thought for a moment before responding. "How far back can we go?"

"We have relevant data going back 791,021 years. Although the sensor data from that far back lacks the detail of more modern sensors."

I swallowed, never quite able to get over just how old Kryptonian society was. "We will start with the data from the last thousand years and expand as we go."

After a few seconds windows started populating the space in the lab. Each one containing all the different information. Normally there would only be a few displays hovering around me, but with the sheer volume I had asked for, it would have been impossible to fit everything in my immediate space.

I walked over to the closest one. Numbers, graphs, and photos were neatly arranged. A quick glance was enough to discern it was about the differing gas concentrations throughout the planet, with a gesture it started to scroll downward. Only a dozen or so seconds passed by before it had finished scrolling, and I had absorbed all the data on the screen. A swipe of my hand later and I was greeted with a new set of information.

"One down, only ninehundred ninety nine years of atmospheric data to go." I murmured to myself, my eyes flicking over the plethora of different numbers and graphs.

/

"Mistress Kara. You have a visitor requesting entry."

I looked away from the screen, rubbing my eyes blearily. "Who is it?" My voice came out alot raspier than I had expected. _Just how long had I been at it?_ Now that my focus wasn't in overdrive from all the new information I had been cramming it with, I was able to note with some discomfort that my stomach was screaming at me for attention. With a thought a protein bar was extruded from the kitchen and delivered to me by a tendril of liquid geo, as I bit into the tasteless dry bar I cringed. A cup of water was soon deposited in my other hand.

"General Zod."

I nearly choked on my impromptu meal. "Let him in. From now on he will be granted priority two clearance." Priority two access meant that he had access to pretty much the whole building, besides any rooms or computers banks I specified needed Priority one clearance. Since I had only just gotten the lab a few days ago, I have yet to work on anything that required Priority One security measures.

"Yes Mistress Kara. I will show him the way." Penny said as she floated out of the room.

As the room I was in was on the first floor, it only took a few moments for Zod to be led to the room. He glanced around the lab curiously, his eyes widening at the amount of displays floating around the room. "Well I see you've jumped right into the role of Thinker. It's only been three days since you got the lab, and by the looks of things your already overworking."

"It's not _that_ bad." I smiled slightly. "I've seen Jor-Els lab, he is the definition of a workaholic. How he manages time to eat is beyond me. I'm already struggling with that as it is and I don't think I have even a fraction of his workload." I raised my half eaten protein bar as an example.

His nose wrinkled at the sight of it much to my amusement. "Those things are fuel, not food. Trust me they dont seem that bad now, but give it a few more days, and you will murder the next person who suggests eating them outside of emergencies."

I shrugged, personally I kind of liked the fact that they didn't taste like anything. It let me focus better on what I was working on. The fact that I could cram the whole thing in my mouth and within seconds meet my daily calorie intake was just an added benefit. The size of it also meant less potty breaks which was also a plus. I had the fate of a world on my shoulder, I think I could deal with tasteless food if it meant a higher chance of success, no matter how small of an increase it was.

"What brings you here Zod? As much as talking about the pros and cons of protein bars amuses me, I doubt that's why you came here in person to discuss." Normally I would have taken the time to have enjoyable conversations with the general, but I wouldn't waste time now. I could waste all the time I wanted after I saved the world.

His shoulders straightened at my words. "For your actions during the invasion, it has been decided that you would be awarded the title of Sword of Rao."

I stared at him, my mouth open but not moving. "Sword of Rao?" I was honestly puzzled. Did it have to do with the Sword of Rao my family made or was it simple coincidence?

"Its a title reserved for only the most valiant of soldier caste, and can only be bestowed by a unanimous vote of the Ruling Council, it is the highest honor anyone can be awarded. Since its inception it had only ever been granted thirty seven times. You would make it Thirty Eight."

"B-but im not from the soldier caste!" I sputtered stupidly, my mind trying and failing to process the news.

"After what you did? I don't think it would matter if you were from the Agriculture caste." He snorted before continuing. "The ruling council must love that." The sarcasm practically steaming off his words.

"But you said it had to be a unanimous vote. If they didn't want to give me the reward, then why are they?" My brows furrowed in confusion.

He stared at me for a moment, his gaze penetrating. "You really haven't put it together have you?" He shook his head slowly with his eyes closed, a sigh escaping him. "You know? With how smart you are, and with all of your prodigious achievements. I always forget just how young you are. I suppose it's not a bad thing to be able to look at the world with such young eyes." He smiled ruefully at me. "The council is scared of you."

I took a moment to take in his words. He has never given me a reason to doubt him before and it wasn't like the news wasn't close to what I had already been thinking. "Why?"

"The invasion has made the Ruling Council look weak. People who never questioned the councils rulings are starting to do double takes, and those that had already been doing that are on the verge of open defiance."

"For the first time in over 20,000 years Krypton is on the precipice of Civil War. A single spark could set off. During moments like these it only takes a single person to take the first step. For better or worse, in times of fear and uncertainty people always look to follow the lead of those who make them feel safest."

Zod held out an arm and with a quick flicking gesture the holoscreen I had been looking at formed an image. It must have been pulled straight from one of the destroyed Brainiac robots memory banks, because I could think of no other way for that image to have been taken. "This image was leaked within twenty four hours of the invasion."

It showed a young girl holding a flaming sword to the sky, a look of defiance on her upturned face. Men and Women gathered around her in a defensive circle, holding the encroaching horde of metallic death at bay.

I could only think of one word to describe my thoughts at that moment.

"Fuck."

/

**AN: Hehe. I'm evil and I know it, and I really love to show it.**

**Leave review or PM if you have any ideas, comments, questions, etc etc. I love talking with y'all.**

**From now on I think im just gonna update as I please, I wont say when I will or when I wont. For some reason when I try to meet a predetermined schedule I can't bring myself to type.**

**Fanfic recommendations: **

**Forged Destiny by Coeur Al'Aran (Its technically a rwby fanfic, but its so AU that it might as well be a completely different universe, the only thing it shares is names and character models. It's REALLY good. Over one million words so its a great long term read. Also it just had its last chapter this week. The ending was nice, but damn do I wish it could keep going. ITS REEALLLLLLYYYYY GOOOOOD)**

**DCAU: Justice League Continues: Part 1 by Jupitus Garth (Personally I liked the story and honestly it kind of makes me mad that he doesnt have more follows/favorites. It's pretty well written and its over 300k words in total, there's a part 1 and part 2. But oddly enough he has less than 60 fofollow/favorites on part 1 and less than 30 on part 2. It doesn't make sense considering how long the stories have been on the site. So do me the solid of at least checking part 1 out? If it doesn't suit your fancy then drop it, but if you like it then show that dude some support lol. The first few chapters are kind of meh, but it gets better as the story goes on. I think he really gets into the flow of writing as time passes.)**

**Also as a reminder that I do have an SI League of Legends story, go check it out if your interested. Or don't. I don't really care. I'm just putting it out there in case anyone is interested. League of Legends has a surprisingly small fanbase in the fanfic community considering how widespread the game is.**

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	10. Chapter 10

**Kara is just under nine years old at the moment, just as an FYI.**

**/**

**alertpoet91: **Eh. I feel like in that situation I would probably just say "Fuck". I like that word a lot, in fact I tend to say it in situations where I really shouldn't. So many young children have been corrupted by me in malls. Wish I was kidding, I sort of got desensitized to that word to the point that I don't even realize I say the word most times.

**gageelliott: **Glad you like it so far!

**Xenocanaan:** IKR Kara is my favorite DC character by far ...although the CW show seems to really love testing that theory lol. (Not a fan of the show, too much politics/agendas being pushed for my tastes. Its annoying cuz I really love supergirl and was really hyped for the show when it was announced)

**Doctor Doofenshmirtz: **_GASP! _I can die happy now. Doctor Doofenshmirtz has admitted to thinking im evil. Now all I need is an animal secret agent and I would be in bliss

**Guest: **Glad you found it funny lol. (That wasn't sarcasm btw)

**Doctordan123: **If you genuinely want to know, leave another PM or review. I don't want to spoil anything unless you confirm that you want a spoiler.

**Lirg123: **Kara is doing something along those lines. She just needs proof before she can even think about making any moves.

**Djberneman: **Lol how do you think I feel lol! I'm honestly sick of krypton at this point lol. I want some superpowered action gosh darn it! But noooooo! I have to work on plot instead. Lol I like world building, but damn is it an annoying part of story writing,

**EpicAccount: **I'm glad your enjoying it! I hope I don't disappoint you!

/

**Chapter 10**

/

_I didn't have time for this. _

_I really didn't have time for this._

I thought rather annoyed as Penny split and settled herself on my arms. I noted distantly that the vambraces weren't there usual smooth silver, instead Penny took a more ornate approach with swirls and criss crossing geometric patterns.

Checking the mirror one more time. The skin suit I wore was an impossible shade of white, it had a near invisible hexagonal pattern to it just visible under the surface. An almost silver skirt was worn over the skin suit stopping just above my knees. I thought it was a stupid addition, but ceremonial skin suits were meant to be worn only when one was acting in an official compacity so I suppose a bit of pomp was needed. Honestly though it wasnt the skirt that had me so annoyed with the whole thing. It was the damn heels that I was expected to wear in place of my perfectly practical shoes. Technically they were called wedges, but technically I didn't give enough of a fuck.

The El crest displayed on my chest was a glowing luminous red color. The sight of the crest still sending surges of something through my body, it had only been three weeks since I had passed my Trials, but with all that had happened the fact that I could openly wear my house crest had been dropped to the wayside for more important matters. I turned slightly and watched as the ankle length cape fluttered about behind me. It was my first time wearing one as I had never needed to attend anything this formal.

Almost against my will, I found myself doing a superhero pose in the mirror. Chest puffed out, fists on my hips. The superman theme played in my head as I took in the sight.

I blinked, …_..that's not coming from my head…._ "Really Penny?" I scowled down at my arms. She buzzed slightly against my skin, I assumed it was her laughter. Either that or she was trying to use morse code. Regardless, she stopped the music.

"Honestly." I sighed in exasperation. Penny had been made from my own brain patterns, this meant that she had all of the memories I had at the time of her creation. If I was being completely honest, although I had created her out of the desire for someone I could trust implicitly to help me in my endeavors, I had also created her out of curiosity.

I mean I had studied the technology and processes behind fabricating an AI from brain scans. So I knew she was supposed to have my memories. But I wasn't sure how it would have applied to me, would the technology be able to copy the memories of my last life as well? The result had been a success. Leaving me to ponder what that meant in regards to the soul and how memory worked. Perhaps it would be something to look into once I had saved Krypton? Who better to research such a topic than me? A person who had retained their memories after reincarnation.

I could already feel the excitement bubbling forth at the prospect of such an interesting project. Taking a deep breath I pushed it away, if the pace I was going at currently was any indication, it would be a long time before I could even consider other projects.

A glance at one of the holo screens showed it was nearly time for me to go. I had an award to go recieve.

/

The ride to Krypton was an awkward one.

Although I was alone in the vehicle I couldn't help but feel extremely self conscious. Who knew sitting with a cape would prove to be so difficult. It kept bunching up under me as I sat. seemingly riding up on its own accord, no matter how many times I fixed it. Eventually I came up with the solution of just draping it over the back of the chair.

I winced slightly as the ship changed its angle of flight, allowing the undiluted sunlight to breach the cabin, I quickly reached over and changed the shields parameters to not allow solar radiation. Relaxing back into my chair as the burning sensation began to fade to a dull ache, I glanced out the window. Looking out into the inky depths of space. The sight never failed to fill me with both fascination and fear. Amongst those glittering points of light were hundreds of different species. I wanted to explore those stars one day. I wanted to meet a real life alien damn it!

I snorted at the irony of that last thought. I glanced down at my small hands, it was so easy to forget that I wasn't human anymore. Kryptonians on the surface level at least, looked exactly like humans. The resemblance was so startling that I wondered if humanity was some failed kryptonian project, or perhaps some other species had tried to clone us and it didn't really pan out.

Or perhaps the gods had forgotten and reused old assets? I frowned at that, the concept of god, or any gods really was a confusing one. At least it was when you considered that reincarnation was a thing, and so were parallel dimensions. In my last life I hadn't been the most firm believer in religion, I liked to believe something was responsible for life in the universe, but considering how many different religions there were throughout human history I couldn't really toss my lot in with any of the more popular ones. They all claimed they were right, so how was I supposed to choose? Considering reincarnation was real, I knew souls existed. So who was to say if gods existed as well? The question being which gods were real and which were imagined.

The transition from space to atmosphere was a seamless one. The shields compensating for the change perfectly. If I hadn't been looking out the window at the time I wouldn't have even noticed.

For a few moments I allowed myself to bask in the beauty of seeing the world from so high up. Its curved horizons, the edge of where the dark void of space and the purple hued atmosphere met clearly defined. But only for a few moments. Before long my mind went back to the clusterfuck I was currently embroiled in.

If Zod were to be believed, my actions could push Krypton into a civil war. My defense of Krypton in both alerting the fleet with my laser and the actual act of fighting the invaders had seemingly put me on some sort of pedestal. I supposed it made sense, even on earth, _especially_ on earth, the average person loved a hero.

The worst part about the whole situation was that I didn't know what the hell I was supposed to do about it. To be honest I didn't really care what happened. Civil Wars happened all the time on earth, it was natural to be honest, at least by my standards. And considering I had the looming presence of a pending apocalypse on my mind I think I was rather justified in my apathy.

Unfortunately, I had to care. If a civil war did erupt, especially a war that was started because of me. I would more than likely find myself in an environment hardly conducive to lab work. And since most wars took time, at least according to the history of both this world and Earth's, I wasn't sure if the planet would last long enough for any side to achieve victory.

On the other hand a civil war could also be beneficial, if the ruling council could be unseated it would allow for hopefully less hard headed individuals to take power. Such a change could mean that they might listen if the head of the science council declared the world is about to end.

If I ensured no civil war occurred, I could proceed with my lab work. But would more than likely have to tiptoe around the council every step of the way. Perhaps this council wasn't as stupid as I feared and maybe they would actually listen to my findings. Or perhaps they were and I would find myself discredited, maybe even arrested for inciting panic in the populace.

The problem was, I didn't know which answer was the right one. Hell I didn't even know if _any_ of them were right.

My internal thoughts were interrupted as the ships navigation system pinged that we were approaching my destination. Now technically this wasn't my first time coming to this building. But considering I was bound by a null field the entire time, I didn't really think it counted.

The building in front of me was the tallest structure in Kandor, a mix of gleaming gold, shining silver, with a support lattice of faintly glowing crystals to spruce things up. It was the epitome of Kryptonian architecture.

Personally I thought it all a bit much. _I mean I get it, your in charge, you don't need to blind everyone who looks at your damn building._

The ships AI managed all the docking procedures, allowing me to walk back to the exit ramp awaiting for touchdown. When it opened it was to the sight of a parade of soldiers at attention, they formed a hallway of bodies to the buildings entrance. Zod awaited me at the bottom of the ramp, his eyes flickered across my form taking in my state of dress. A small nod was all I got on his thoughts. His face was utterly neutral.

A little startled at the display I stood there open mouthed for a moment before taking a breath and putting on a blank expression. No doubt there would be cameras recording today's proceedings, probably broadcasting live to various new outlets.

The journey to the elevator was a surprisingly uncomfortable one. With all the stares I could feel from the soldiers I couldn't bring myself to relax one bit. Zod led the way to the elevators, not saying a single word the entire time besides an overly formal greeting compared to what I was used to from him.

Once we were alone in the elevator he turned to me, a slight quirk to his lips. I raised a brow, wondering what he found so amusing he didn't wait long before informing me. "By the way you nearly tripped several times on that short walk, I see why you never wear anything with heels."

I scowled at him. "These things are so impractical. Why would anyone willingly _choose _to wear them." The shoes I was wearing were much closer to wedges than actual heels, but even still they took all my concentration to walk in.

"Eh. They're not that bad. Wear them for a week or two and you'll adjust."

I froze at his tone. He couldn't possibly be implying what I thought he was implying…

"...Zod...why do you sound like your talking from experience?"

He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye. "Because I was. Heels may be impractical for daily wear, but they're great for honing one's balance. If you can confidently run in heels you can run in anything." His tone was grave, and eyes serious.

I blinked once, twice, three times before I nearly doubled over laughing. Imagining the imposing General walking around in heels was one of the most amusing thing I had envisioned in quite possibly ever.

He huffed in annoyance, waiting for me to get myself together. "It's good training!" He tried to protest, but it only served to make me laugh harder. The ding of the elevator reaching its destination brought me back to my senses. The reminder of what I was here for wiping all traces of amusement from my mind.

My body once more exuding an air expressionless calm. It was better to be seen as jaded rather than nervous, or literally any other emotion that could be dissected and interpreted by the people watching. While I hadn't really paid much attention to the going ons of this worlds media, if it was anything like earths then I knew giving them so much as a smile could somehow be used to my detriment.

Together we strolled down the familiar hallway towards the ornate door that lead to the council chambers. The same chamber where I had nearly been thrown into phantom zone. The thought sent chills down my spine, and I could almost feel the reflexive sweat began to bead up. I swallowed down the fear, I couldn't afford to show anything other than calm rationality, there was no room for screaming hysterics. I pressed on, forcing one foot in front of the other every step of the way.

The council chamber was just how I remembered it nearly three weeks ago. As the council went through the formalities I couldn't help but glance up at the ceiling where I knew the phantom zone portal rested.

I bowed slightly when it came to my turn to speak. "I am greatly honored at the fact that this esteemed council has seen fit to bestow such an award to myself."

"Please Kara. Rise. For your actions you deserve nothing less. In fact, this council would be truly remiss if we failed to reward such bravery and guile." An elderly woman spoke up with a disarming smile.

I would have fell for her caring grandmother routine if I didn't have distinct memories of the same face practically sneering down at me as my sentence was decided. I blinked away the image, doing my best to retain an air of calm. I could have all the panic attacks I wanted in the sanctity of my lab. Penny squeezed my arms, no doubt sensing my rising heart rate and probably a multitude of other things that indicated my emotional state. I calmed at her reminder that I wasn't alone. I discreetly reached over and gave one of the vambraces a soft squeeze of my own to show my appreciation.

The council members continued speaking for a while longer, showing their thanks for all the cameras to record. Finally after what felt like an endless supply of empty platitudes they finally got to actually giving me the reward.

The central council man reached down and pulled out a small metal box from under the table, opening it with a small hiss. A small red crystal the size of my pinky floated out of the box, on its own accord it started floating in my direction, I gently reached out to it when it got close enough. As it made contact with my finger it seemingly turned into a fine powder and seemed to flow into my skin, it stung a little but I didn't flinch, I had already known what was happening.

Once every last particle disappeared, I held my hand out and concentrated. The El crest appeared on the back of my hand, but this time it was accompanied by a faintly glowing red sword behind it. It had no use other than bragging rights, and prestidge. It was useless.

Although there reason behind giving me the reward was suspect, it still felt good to be rewarded for my actions that day.

I left that chamber with a genuine smile and a pep in my step.

/

Running a hand through my hair I couldn't help but wince as it got caught on multiple snags. With all the work I had been doing, personal hygiene hadn't exactly been a top priority. As such my hair was quite the tangled mess, very different compared to my usual pin straight hair. A month of almost no brushing of any sort could do that.

With a despondent sigh I closed the holoscreen in front of me and made my way to the bathroom down the hall. My research seemed to have borne no fruit. Twelve thousand years of Planetary survey data yielded nothing. It looked like I would have to expand my search parameters.

After realizing that I had wasted nearly two months on a fruitless search I decided I needed to indulge a bit to raise my spirits.

The shower felt absolutely divine after weeks of using a sonic scrubber. It got the job done and only took a few seconds of my time, but it had nothing on the bliss of feeling hot water on ones skin.

I sat naked on a couch of liquid geo, the cool metal felt kind of nice on my skin after the hot shower. A brush in one hand diligently passing through my damp hair. My mind racing trying to find some new angle to work. While I would still try this method, it couldn't hurt to try others.

Summoning up a keyboard I began to type.

'_World Destroyer'_

Wasn't the most specific thing to search, but I figured I had to start somewhere. Almost immediately files started appearing, in the dozens, hundreds, then thousands. I closed my eyes in resignation. I already knew that saving the world would be hard work, but why in the world did it have to involve so much reading!?

"Penny? Could you please go through these and highlight any you deem worth looking into?"

If the ones Penny found didn't pan out, I would of course look through all of them myself. But it couldn't hurt to try and speed up the process. Why I hadn't done that with the planetary scans was beyond me, I could only blame it on the grief and shock of the invasion clouding my judgement and move on.

"Of course Mistress."

I only had the energy to send her a weak glare at her word choice, a yawn suddenly erupting. I layed back, the couch morphing into a bed. "Wake me in four hours m'kay?" I mumbled tiredly, the lights shutting off in the lab.

/

**AN: Hope y'all like the chapter! It's a bit short but I do have a much larger one planned for the next one. **

**Review or PM if you have any ideas, comments, complaints, etc etc. **

**Also if you decide to unfollow/unfavorite could you pretty please tell me why? It always bothers me when I see the number go down. I start wondering if its a problem on my end or if its a personal taste of the reader. If it's on my end I would love to know so I can see if I can fix whatever it is that put you off. I can't improve if I dont know whats wrong now can I?**

**As a reminder I do have a league of legends story. (SI reborn as Lux). Sorry if im getting annoying with these advertisements lol. League has a very small fandom on this site so I feel the need to advertise where I can. It's kind of weird to me considering how many people play the game. If your interested go check it out! If not that's fine too. **

/

** (dot) com (slash) SuperiorFreak**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh Wtf? Lol I didnt notice the file was bugged, all the bold and italic text was normal text. Well thats annoying lol, so many people read the messed up version before I noticed. Sorry guys. I copy and paste from google drive.**

**HuangBaiLian: **Ask and you shall receive.

**OgFrosty:** LMAO! How do you think I feel? Lol I want to move on already but damn it I wrote myself into a grave, and now I have to lie in it. Originally this story was supposed to be on earth by 20k words…..were at 50k atm. Stick with it a little longer lol. Or I can just pm you when it gets to earth?

**Mary D. Black2000: **Glad you like it so far. Yeah no. I do not, and will NEVER do a Harem. Its increadibly stupid/unrealistic to have so many people within close proximity to eachother to all be comfortable with sharing. Zod is honestly my favorite character from DC. At least in theory. The idea of a person being so right, but be so very wrong is fascinating. He wants to save krypton, and it's his desire to see his people saved that drives him to do horrible things. The Zod from man of steel was my favorite interpretation to date. Although I kind of wish they gave him an excuse for wanting to terraform earth, other than wanting to say fuck you to Kal. I mean they had a terraforming machine so they could have gone anywhere once they got the codex right?

**Alertpoet91**: To kill or not to kill? That's the important question that all heroes are plagued with. It's a question that isn't so simple to answer. So instead of answering, let me give you insight into my thought process. (Keep in mind this isn't me saying she wont/will kill people. I'm just trying to explain my thoughts on the matter.)

When you have so much power that killing is actually easier than not killing, can you allow yourself to cross that line? I know its super cliche to say, but once you cross it there is no going back. Eventually you will cross it again, and again, and again. Eventually the line will be so blurred you won't even realize you are crossing it. Yeah it sounds increadibly stupid, and youre probably thinking "But I wouldnt allow myself to get to that point." And you would be right. Under normal circumstances you wouldn't get to that point. But these aren't normal circumstances are they? When you have so much strength that you could kill someone by bumping into them on the sidewalk, when you have enough power in your lungs to knock down buildings, heat vision that could turn entire neighborhoods to slag. When killing someone is literally as easy as blowing out a candle, can you honestly say that you could maintain a moral high ground forever? How long until you go from killing monsters, to killing anyone that you see as being a problem?

For us humans, killing people is something that not only takes genuine effort, but also comes with consequences. So what happens when killing is not only easier than not killing, AND has no real consequences? Can you afford to even take a step on that slippery slope?

**Xenocanaan: **Zod is my favorite character, from krypton at least.

**Riveg**: Yes but actually no. (lol not sure what else to say here)

**Shadowjab17: **Glad you liked it so far. Also yeah I feel you, this is taking WAYYYYYY too long. I really didn't plan on staying on krypton for so many chapters as I did.

**Doctordan123: **Which way will it go I wonder? (JK I already know lol) But im glad you like it, and hope I don't disappoint

**Loke13: **Thank you! Your constant support is appreciated.

**DannyPhantom619: **Why yes. Yes I have.

**Shugokage: **Glad you like it!

/

**Chapter 11**

/

Penny had marked dozens of files for perusal. Each one contained dozens, sometimes hundreds of other files. Sometimes, those subfiles had subfiles of their own, and so on and so forth. Each sub file holding relevant information in regards to the first file. It was to say the least, extremely time consuming and tedious.

A week into it, I came across a file that peaked my personal interest, not because it had anything to do with my research, not truly anyways. The thing that had drawn my interest was that I recognized it.

It had taken me a full five seconds of staring to realize just where I had seen it. When I had been undergoing the Sword of Raos inquisition it had shown me glimpses of what its past wielders had seen. This was one of them, a picture of a grayish hulking humanoid with wispy gray hair, blood red eyes glaring hatefully, and multiple bony protrusions all over its body.

_Designation: Doomsday_

_Classification: Biological Weapon_

_Origin: Krypton_

_Number of Units made: Seven_

_Number of Units Serviced: Seven_

_Number of Units Decommissioned: Three_

According to the file the Doomsday project was Krypton's attempt at creating a weapon capable of destroying its enemies without risking any kryptonian lives. By splicing together the genes of all the deadliest creatures of Krypton into one apex predator. They could just drop it onto any Military installation or city and just walk away, come back and pick it up when the job was done. And it worked out rather well, for a time at least.

Then they made a mistake. A very critical and in hindsight stupid mistake. They dropped it on a world with a yellow sun. Seemingly drunk on how successful previous deployments of the weapon had gone, they had decided to drop seven of them on a single world. The goal was to cull the population a bit, using the weapons previous track record and the technology available on that world, it was deemed that when they came back in a month's time roughly thirty percent of the planets population would be dead. And as an added bonus their infrastructure would be damaged quite extensively which would keep them busy rebuilding for a while.

When the Kryptonian ship finally came back a month later, to the great surprise and horror of the crew, the entire population of the planet was dead. The once lush green world was now a gray irradiated wasteland, with still glowing hot craters big enough to be seen from space littering its surface.

In the month that the Kryptonians had left, it seemed that the Doomsday units had exceeded the thirty percent estimation by a very large margin. So large in fact that the natives had decided it was a better option to glass their own world in their attempt to kill the monsters hunting them.

Only two of the doomsday units died in the world ending conflagration. Putting the remaining five back in their stasis pods was an easy task with the use of the organic compliance chips grown into the weapons. The weapons would listen to and follow any command given by a Kryptonian, it was designed in such a way that even a random Kryptoninian child could command the beasts, so in the unlikely event that something went wrong, no kryptonian would ever be in danger. With the reassurance that the compliance chips were still functioning they made their way back to Krypton.

The moment the first pod was opened in a lab, all hell broke loose. A month under a yellow sun had somehow enabled them to ignore the commands of the compliance chip, using intelligence the scientists had been unaware they possessed they had merely feigned obedience until that point. The first monster made short work of everything in the lab, quickly rousing its compatriots from their forced sleep.

Programmed literally since before even being born to destroy, every strand of DNA was practically designed with destruction in mind. The only emotion it was allowed to feel, if one could even call it that, was rage. They were meant to destroy everything in their sight, to kill, to sunder, to obliterate. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise when City after City was razed by the unstoppable and unfeeling yellow sun empowered monsters. Even with their might waning under the red sun, the beasts pushed ever onward in their quest to see their creators gone.

Five weeks.

That was how long it had taken for the entirety of Krypton's Military to neutralize the threat. In that timeframe, half the population had been killed. And even in the end, after all that death and destruction they only managed to kill one of the monsters.

That one victory had cost the lives of no less than three different Sword of Rao wielders. Three of my ancestors had died just to kill one of them. The remaining four Units were sealed away into an empty parallel dimension, in fact that was where Jor-El had gotten the idea of the Phantom Zone from.

I couldn't help the shudder that ran through me when I finished. _Three wielders dead in the span of five weeks?_ After feeling the raw power the sword granted its wielder the thought of one, let alone three dying was unthinkable.

Taking a moment to center myself I closed the file and moved on. As interesting as that file was, It wasn't what I was looking for. Brainiac thought we were already doomed, so whatever kills Krypton must already be in motion. Those monsters were in a different plane of reality, they were not a threat.

I hoped.

/

None of the files Penny had marked had what I was looking for. It was rather maddening. I didn't even know _what_ I was looking for, or what I was even doing. Just poking around and hoping something would jump out at me.

Jor-El was supposed to be the one who uncovered Krypton's demise, and when he had gone public with his claims. No one believed him, a world full of scientists more brilliant than anyone to be born on Earth. And not a one believed him. Or at least no one with the power to do anything believed him. It was very much a possibility that some people had believed in his research but lacked the resources needed to escape or save Krypton.

Yet here I was, just over nine years old, trying to figure out what only the brightest mind of Krypton had caught. Everyone thought I was some prodigy, that I was an up and coming world mover. And maybe one day it could be true. But at the moment?

I was just a very determined person. While determination could get you places, it couldn't change facts. For all the knowledge I had absorbed over the past few years, I lacked an oceans worth more in knowledge and the experience to apply it. Any one of my family members had probably forgotten more about science than I had ever learned, which is saying something since Kryptonians had an almost eidetic memory, but that was besides the point. The point was that I had a long way to go before I could truly think of myself as in their league.

I had seen some of Jor-Els work before, and it always left me scratching my head. Everyone in my family was leaps and bounds ahead of me in the intelect department. It only made sense as all of them had nearly two centuries of scientific experience compared to my measly seven.

So with no choice left I forced myself to read through every file that popped up in response to the term _'World Destroyer'. _It was somewhat nerve racking to see that the list was in the thousands. Each file representing a different way to destroy a world. Thankfully a lot of the methods described were one offs and couldn't be repeated without a frankly ludicrous amount of circumstances aligning just right. Everytime I opened a file I had to compare it to the planetary survey data I had compiled to see if they matched.

After the almost four months of constant reading, it felt like my brain was about ready to dribble out of my ears. Even Kryptonians had limits it seemed.

I leaned back, staring at the metallic ceiling in silence. My headache caused the entire room to ripple and pulsate in a rather mesmerizing if extremely nauseating fashion. I made a mental note to tweak the circlet to not respond to headaches.

Briefly I contemplated using my nanites to deal with the headache, but in the end I decided to let it be for now. Headaches were usually best left to run their course, they were the bodies indicator that something was wrong up there. Once the headache abated I would resume my research. I needed a break if I wanted to be working at peak efficiency. Penny wrapped around my head, massaging my scalp, trying to relieve the built up tension.

I sighed in appreciation. "Thanks Penny, don't know what I would do without you."

"Probably starve to death no doubt."

"Probably." I agreed readily, more often than not it would be Penny who would remind me that I needed to eat. This was especially important since my body didn't have as much solar energy as was recommended. I couldn't afford the distraction the burning would cause, so I limited my intake to only what was needed to keep my brain running at full power.

I shuddered at the memory my thoughts conjured up. During the first week of research I had yet to get used to the full body ache caused by my damaged solar receptors, it hampered my ability to concentrate on my work. The medications Krypton had to offer for such cases were less than optimal as they had nasty side effects after prolonged use. Not wanting to deal with those I had decided to simply stop absorbing solar energy altogether, our nanites could be used to inhibit our solar receptors. Usually they could only be used to fine tune the receptors to absorb less energy, but with them damaged as extensively as they were, my options were a bit different. I couldn't lower the amount of radiation absorption, but I _could_ turn it off entirely. Normally the nanites couldn't do such a thing due to the bodies natural defences but with how damaged they were, the nanites could do it.

It had been a nightmare. Oh at first it had actually been bliss, to finally be free of any pain after over a week of constant burning. But as the days went on and my body used up the stored solar energy I began to notice something was off. I was progressively growing weaker, and I could practically feel my IQ dropping. Well perhaps that wasn't quite right, my intelligence was still the same, but my ability to process information was slowing dramatically. What should have only taken ten minutes to do was taking me almost an hour.

Realizing what was happening I quickly turned on my solar receptors again. The burning that accompanied their activation was unpleasant, but the returning strength to my muscles and increased mental performance was worth it.

A kryptonian _could _survive without any solar radiation, but it was far from optimal. All life on Krypton had evolved to take in solar radiation, their bodies using it to supplement themselves in some form or another. The planet's harsh environment had all but made it necessary for the added supplement. Of course that was a long time ago, now the planet was much more hospitable after Kryptonians terraformed the planet into a lush garden world rather than the veritable ball of ice it had once been.

I groaned in satisfaction as Penny moved onto my shoulders, working the tense muscles perfectly.

/

"Hey Mom." My hand resting on the cool glass. I stared down at her peaceful expression. "I know I haven't visited you in a while." I winced as I said it, in the six months since the invasion I had visited her only eight times, with the last one being a month ago. Considering she was moved into our home on Argo, I really should have visited more often. "I've been...busy. I know that's really not a good excuse to visit, but it's really important I promise. Like stopping an apocalypse kind of important."

She didn't respond obviously, maintaining that same position throughout my entirely one sided conversation.

I sighed. "At this rate though I don't think I can figure it out." In the six months I had been researching, I had found many leads that looked like they were going to be the one. But every time I followed them, it turned out to be nothing.

I spent the next hour or so just talking. No particular focus really, just trying to fill the silence with anything that crossed my mind. I was well aware that she couldn't hear me.

/

Seeing the futility of my own actions I finally shelved my research. I wasn't giving up on it obviously, but I needed a viable back up plan to fall back on incase my research didn't pan out.

Throughout my nine years of life I had come up with a great many plans. Some were rather well thought out, some were not. This one was somewhere in the middle.

It essentially boiled down to calling for help. Krypton was an old race, we have interacted in some capacity with hundreds of different races. Sometimes to their benefit, sometimes not. After reading through all the interactions and how they ended, I picked fourteen different races to call on. Krypton didn't have any allies, in fact we had snubbed, or outright fought with almost every single race we had interacted with in some way.

Tamaran, Oa home of the self proclaimed guardians of the universe and the green lantern corp, the New Gods of New Genesis, even our estranged cousins on Daxam were on that list. Out of all of them I have the highest hope for Oa. After all saving doomed planets is there whole stick right?

These fourteen had generally neutral interactions with us for the most part and were not allied or overly friendly with those races that we had particularly bad blood with. I deemed them the most likely to help us.

I had decided on who to communicate with, now I just needed to figure out how to go about it. With the interference field I couldn't simply open up a comms channel, unless I was willing to use radio waves and wait a few thousand years for a reply. My next thought was to send an FTL communicator far enough to exit the fields influence, but I quickly canned that idea as Krypton's military no doubt would detect the satellites broadcasts, and even if they didn't, the races I contacted would have no way of confirming the authenticity of it, probably assuming it was some other race trying to trick them into entering Kryptonian space. Whatever method I used would need to be undeniably Kryptonian in origin.

So I went with the communication drone idea and took it a step further. I would make satellites that could travel to those planets and deliver the call for aid. The clearly kryptonian designed craft should be enough proof of the messages authenticity. And with each one of them fitted with communicators that were quantumly entangled with corresponding devices in my lab, I could receive and send transmissions without emitting any detectable signals, allowing me to talk with the races I was calling on. The link while instantaneous and discrete, it had the rather large drawback of only being able to transmit voices, anything more than that would require a much more complex device and therefore bigger device than what I could currently transport.

The drones were ridiculously easy to procure, as all it took was a simple search through the database for an already existing design. I had previously taken a cursory look into the principle of FTL drives. Imagine my shock and confusion when I learned that I could print one out in a matter of minutes?

The confusion had been quick to fade however as I looked further into it. Yes, I could print one out in a matter minutes, but it would only be stable enough to transport a few molecules. FTL drives were actually ridiculously simple, at least on a conceptual level. The problem lay in the fact that the more mass was being transported the more unstable it became, leading to the need for more complicated designs with increasingly exotic materials to stabilize it. Unless of course your goal was to spread every atom of your cargo across multiple light years between your destination. There was a reason it took most races centuries of effort to streamline their designs enough for commercial usage. Hell some races never manage to figure it out, only getting access to the stars because of the charity of other more technologically inclined races.

Getting it to transport something as heavy as a pebble took almost a month of solid work. It took me a week longer to design one that could carry the drones to their destinations...probably.

With the design process out of the way, it took an additional month before I managed to acquire enough of the more exotic materials. It wasn't even a matter of the material being hard to aquire in large quantities, not really at least. The problem lay in procuring it without raising any red flags on my file. It wasn't like there were all that many uses one could have for unstable quantumly entangled tachyons. Coming up with viable excuses for my need for them had been quite the circus act.

Finally after two months of work it was ready, drones hardly bigger than a tennis ball lay on the floor in front of me. Taking a breath I backed out of the airlock sealing the door. A press of a button and the drones activated, floating smoothly into the air, another press and they all disappeared. Opening the airlocks outer doors allowed the now cloaked drones to make their way into space and towards their preprogrammed jump points.

Considering my FTL drives were less than optimal, it would take at least six months before I could expect the first drone to arrive at its destination. The farthest planet would take eight. It was a long time to wait, but considering the light years involved I couldn't really complain.

After studying the capabilities of Krypton's defenses, I managed to find a frequency that would hide the small drones as they made their way out of the field range. Even then they would barely pass as being under the radar, only thanks to their diminutive size was it even possible for them to slip by undetected.

At least that was the hope. On the bright side I wouldn't have to wonder if it worked or not. The military forces sent to bring me for questioning would be rather obvious.

/

I breathed deeply through my nose, holding the awkward position as well as my breath. The burn in my abdominals was a familiar one, but one I rather liked. It was a much more rewarding pain in comparison to the burn that constantly permeated my body.

My muscles began to twitch in rebellion, threatening to give out entirely. Eventually I was forced to release the breath I was holding, along with the tension in my stomach. Now upside down, I willed the bar of liquid geo my legs were hooked around to lower itself so I could touch the ground.

I was never much of a fitness nut in my last life. Hell to be honest, I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I had gone to the gym, and maybe two hands the amount of times I had done a workout at home on my own accord.

In this life however, I exercised every morning. Nothing too strenuous as I was still a child, simple body exercises, pull ups, push ups, squats, crunches, etc. It was kind of embarrassing really, I was probably more physically fit now as a nine year old than I was at any point in the twenty one years of my previous life.

Although to be fair, even if I had never exercised a day in this life, I would have still been more fit. Kryptonian genes were kind of bullshit, but I sure wasn't gonna complain. No matter what we ate, no matter how lazy we got, we would always maintain a good physique. The Warrior caste had that trait enhanced even further, growing muscles that were much harder and stronger than the other castes.

Even with the cheatiness that was kryptonian physiology, exercising was still beneficial. The body could only do so much without help. Just like most races, exercising made our bodies even better, promoting stronger bone and muscle growth. As a science caste member it was kind of irrelevant for me, as my expected activity shouldn't require any physical activity. Most of my colleagues would have scoffed at me, saying it was a waste of my time. Time I could be using to study or work on my projects.

But I _was _working on my projects. As I exercised I would think, allowing my body to go through the motions while my mind would review and revise what I had learned thus far. Using the time to work out my next course of action, it was also a good way to decompress.

As I moved on to my next set of exercises, my mind wandered onto a topic that I had hardly touched in my rush to figure out what was going to cause the apocalypse. Kryptonians couldn't live outside of our solar system, our bodies rejected solar radiation not from our own sun. The constant burning and my comatose mother was proof enough of those claims.

What was I supposed to do if I couldn't save Krypton? Even if I managed to get everyone off world somehow, what were we supposed to do? We couldn't leave the solar system, not unless we fixed whatever it was that caused such a visceral reaction in our cells.

And therein lay the crux of the problem. For all my studying, all my achievements. I was no biologist. In fact I had practically gone out of my way to only learn the bare minimum needed to pass the Trials. Almost all of my efforts had gone into engineering, physics, geology. Things that would help me save Krypton, or failing that, help save more than a single baby and a teenage girl.

With all the other things on my plate, I didn't even know if I had the time to get caught up enough to figure out how to fix the problem. I was one person. No. I was one Child. Even with taking my reincarnated status into account, I was still a child by kryptonian standards. What was thirty years of life compared to centuries? Saving an entire race shouldn't have even been on my list of things to do.

For the first time in years, I felt genuinely overwhelmed, my breaths came out more labored as I thought about just how much I still had to accomplish. I didn't even have a date for when the world would end. For all I knew it could happen in the next hour. Butterflies flew in my stomach as I tugged sharply on my hair. I felt clammy, and I didnt think it had anything to do with my previous workout.

_How did I ever convince myself I had a chance? _

I was biting my lip now, hard enough that I could taste a bit of blood. My breath came out in harshe pants, as my thoughts raced faster and faster. My vision blurring slightly from the frustrated tears that came unbidden by the sudden and overwhelming influx of thoughts and emotion.

I laughed bitterly. _Hubris._ It was the only thing I could think of. Why else would I presume I could do anything about the situation? I wasn't some hero of prophecy, I wasn't destined for great things.

_A fluke._ That's all it was. I just had the extraordinarily good luck of being reincarnated as Kara Zor-El. It didn't mean anything, there was no script for me to follow, no guiding hand ensuring I succeeded. I was just dropped into the situation by pure happenstance.

For all I knew, my actions so far had damned krypton. Perhaps something I had done caused a ripple effect? Perhaps now Jor-El would never even figure out the world was ending, and if that happened, then it would just be me trying, and no doubt failing.

I punched the wall in front of me, my fist just sinking into the metal. The lack of pain just served to make me angrier. This time when I reared back I forced the wall to remain solid, punching it full force. The pain that shot up my arm was lovely. I punched it again and again, reveling in the sensation. I laughed all the while, the tears streaming down my face had nothing to do with my bleeding knuckles.

Finally when I stopped I could hardly feel my arms after all the jarring impacts. I breathed harshly, my tense shoulders rising and falling. The wall had taken on a mirror sheen as I had punched it, streaks of blood marred the reflective surface.

I sank to my knees, watching as the blonde girl in front of me did the same. She looked horrible, blonde hair a mess, sticking up in all sorts of angles despite the sweat that weighed it down, shiny tracks marred her face where tears had run down it. Her blue eyes were puffy and red, her nose even more so.

The girl in the mirror looked lost. The girl in the mirror looked tired. The girl in the mirror looked defeated.

Not willing to look at my reflection anymore I closed my eyes, allowing myself to slump forward. Enough so that I could feel the cool metal press against my still hot forehead. I let out a slow breath through my nose.

_Why? _

I didn't even know what I meant by that at this point. Why was I trying to save everyone? Why was I having a meltdown? Why wasn't I able to figure it out? So many "why's" in my life, yet I seemed to not have an answer for any of them.

No that wasn't right. I knew why I wanted to save this world. I had grown to love it. This world, its people, the culture, my family. I loved it all. But most importantly I felt guilty. I _knew _it was stupid. I had thought I had gotten over it, or at least I had gotten very good at convincing myself.

I sat back, studying my reflection once more. The reflection of the little girl who had never breathed air looked back at me a damning light in her blue eyes. I had killed her, whatever life she would have had, whatever hopes and dreams she had held. They had never even existed. She had never even had a chance.

Reincarnation had made sure of that. Forcing my soul into this body before its owner had a chance to even draw her first breath. I hadn't been given a choice in the matter, never once consulted, or even given options. I had no control over what happened. I couldn't even apologize to her.

I had lived my life already, sure it had been cut short rather abruptly, but that was life wasn't it? You lived, and you died. The blonde girl staring back at me had never lived, yet she had still died.

The only thing I could do was try to make it up to her. I had no way of knowing if I could ever make it up to her, but saving her homeworld seemed like as good a place to start as any.

And yet, despite my determination, I didn't think I could do it.

Finally my chaotic emotions overwhelmed the circlet. The mirror began to distort. Now instead of a perfect copy, the girl looked like she was made of stretched taffy. The sight sparked some memory inside my head. Of something I had seen years ago. My kryptonian brain did what it was practically designed to do, and it followed that spark until it found the memory.

My eyes widened as the memory played behind my eyes.

I ran out of the room and into the lab. Typing on keyboards, completely ignoring the pain from my most likely fractured if not broken knuckles.

It seemed that my little tantrum was good for something. It had opened my eyes to a new possibility. Something that most likely would never have occurred to me before.

/

In the early days of cloning, the results had been less than optimal. Most clones coming out warped in some way. I had seen images of such failures in our history lessons. It had been a short anecdote, hardly even a few sentences and a picture or two. It was only meant to lead up the real meat of the lesson.

The Clone War.

It was an event that had literally reshaped Krypton. Both culturally, and physically. Leaving actual scars on the planet. Patches of land that even today could not support life.

Thirty thousand years ago, long before the use of even the genesis pods. We didn't have the organic nanites in our bodies to keep us young and healthy. Yet we still managed to live for centuries regardless. We had found and utilized a much simpler, but horrendous method.

Clones.

Everysingle Kryptonian on the planet had clones of themselves grown and held in vast facilities. Whenever the person had a disease or injury, they would simply cut out whatever ailed them and replace it with the healthy and still young parts of their clones.

This practice went without any noticeable hitches for nearly ten thousand years. But that all changed when a woman smuggled one of her clones out of a facility. For some reason she had decided that nobody was good enough for her son, so she set it up so that her son fell in love with her younger clone. Of course she did it without letting him know the girl he was falling in love with was a younger clone of herself.

It ended in tragedy as eventually as time passed and the clone aged, he couldn't miss the clear resemblance to his mother. Realizing what she was and what his mother had done. He had killed them both, not even sparing the child he had sired with her. He then killed himself.

For years a political faction had been growing in power, trying to push for the clones to have rights and be treated more humanely. This event was all they needed to push them to more drastic actions. They freed and armed the clones, leading to a war that ravaged the planet.

Superweapons were being developed and pumped out by both sides, and just as quickly countermeasures were being developed to neutralize the advantage. Both sides locked in what was essentially a technological stalemate. The government though had access to far more resources and slowly but surely were winning, if only through sheer numbers.

The clone faction seeing that they were losing decided that if they couldn't win, no one would. In the last battle they used a new weapon. A beam of pure nuclear energy shot directly into the planet's core, its intention was to set off some sort of self sustaining reaction and blow up the planet.

Someone must have carried the wrong zero, because after firing for only a few moments the weapon promptly exploded. The war ended, and Krypton's government was left to pick up the pieces.

In its weakened state Krypton couldn't afford to spread its defenses so thin. So to ensure its safety they issued a mass exodus of all the colony worlds, and the abandonment of any on going projects outside Krypton's solar system. From then on all interstellar travel was banned, even after Krypton recovered and got back on its feet. The council saw no reason to lift the ban, and so it remained in place.

Now lacking their method for staying healthy and young, new research was put onto the task. Eventually the genesis pods and their ability to make drastic changes to our genome was settled on. With the organic nanites, kryptonians could enjoy the idyllic lifestyle it had grown so accustomed to. The Genesis pods had the added bonus of being able to enforce the travel ban by modifying our solar receptors in utero.

The thing that had me running into the lab though was the tidbit about the nuclear beam. It had failed. Kryptonian scientists had never figured out what had gone wrong with the device as it had blown up rather spectacularly. The fact that it had been deemed as a failure meant it wasnt in the database when I searched for world destroyers earlier.

It had been over twenty thousand years ago, and to be frank it should have been irrelevant. But I had looked at everything I could think of over the past few months and turned up with nothing. So I figure it was about time I tried to look at things a little less conventionally.

Using the formula derived from the few scraps of data they had recovered from the wreckage I set the computers to work forming a detailed simulation of what would happen if the machine hadn't blown up.

It would have taken four hours for the reaction in the core to reach the levels needed to blow up. A graph of the planets internal radiation levels showed a steep incline. A very steep staircase going upwards.

"Penny? Change the formula so that it happens over the course of twenty thousand years instead of four hours."

A secondary graph appeared next to the third, it was obviously much more stretched out, but side by side the resemblance was clear. "Bring up a graph of the planets internal radiation levels over the past twenty thousand years."

I nearly stumbled as the graph superimposed itself over the second, only the smallest of differences could be seen. My mouth going dry. The eclectic mix of fear, excitement, and a cocktail of other unnamed emotions running through me nearly making me slightly dizzy.

I had found it.

I had finally found what was going to kill everyone, and it was twenty thousand years in the making.

/

**AN: Yeah the whole clone wars thing is actually canon. Not really sure what continuity it comes from, but it's on the DC wiki. **

**Leave a review or PM if you have any complaints, ideas, or just wanna talk, etc etc. I love hearing from you guys.**

**Also as a reminder that I do have a Lux SI League of Legends story, go check it out if you're interested. Or don't. I don't really care. I'm just putting it out there in case anyone is interested. League of Legends has a surprisingly small fanbase in the fanfic community considering how widespread the game is.**

/

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